Beginning Is Easy, It's Continuing That's Hard
by seastarr08
Summary: AH/AU - Sookie and Eric, who are from opposite side of the planet,and are both running away from something, fall in love and deal with the consequences.
1. Chapter 1

**So I kind of started another story last weekend...and here it is. If any of you have read my other stories, you will know that I take some of the characters to Japan. So I got to thinking, I bet Eric and Sookie would love to go to Japan. Partly because I love Japan (I used to live there). And it would be more fun if they were humans, and met under unusual circumstances, which kept getting more and more unusual, so here you have it. I already have quite a bit of this written, so I will be posting pretty frequently, probably every day for a while. I, like most of the authors on here, love getting any sort of feedback, so feel free to leave me some love!**

**As always, I don't own the characters, just the setting and situations.**

I sat on the straw tatami mats of our apartment, watching as the man I had moved across the pacific with, try to justify the compromising position I had caught him in, a mere thirty minute earlier.

"Sookie, it was a mistake, a minor indiscretion. We've come too far for this to break us." By come too far, he meant my forgiving him two years ago when we had first started dating and I found him in bed with his calculus tutor. The only reason I didn't break it off then was because I was fragile over my grandmother's terminal cancer diagnosis. In hindsight, cheating on your girlfriend when you know her gran is dying is a pretty nasty thing to do. Bill had always taken advantage of any situation that he could, including getting me to come to Japan to teach English a few months after I lost gran. We had just graduated university and I had no plan. I couldn't face returning to her house in Bon Temps, which had been signed over to my brother and I, so when the opportunity to get away from everything for a while came up, I took it, despite the knot I'd had in my stomach the entire time I'd been dating Bill.

I loved my job, teaching adorable Japanese children to speak English through games and cutesy conversation. I was glad that Bill had convinced me to come, even though this was the end of the road for us. I decided that as soon as I came home early from my flower arranging course and found him in bed with Yuki, a most adorable Japanese girl who worked at his school, the opposite of me in every way.

"Sookie, are you even listening to me? I'm trying to save our relationship here. You haven't said anything." I sighed.

"Bill, there's really nothing left to say. I'd like you out by the end of the week. I will contact the company about getting a new roommate." Luckily for me, we had been given a two bedroom apartment, so being assigned a new roommate wouldn't compromise my privacy.

"Sookie, you are really just going to give up on us? It was a mistake. We've been through so much together, the death of your gran, university, moving here, and you are just going to quit on us?"

"I am. And don't bring up my gran. Ever." I snapped at him. My gran was the only family I had left, after my parents were killed in a flash flood. I had a brother, but we weren't terribly close. I picked up my phone and dialed my company, informing them that our living arrangement had changed. They had a new group of teachers coming in next week, so it would be no problem for them to stick me with someone.

"Someone new is moving in next week, so you have two days to find a place to live." I stood up, placing my hands on my hips in my 'I mean business' stance. Bill backed down and went to pack up his things. I didn't care where he was going. The knot in my stomach dissipated for the first time in a very difficult two years. I popped out the door and headed for a temple that was my favourite, and since I lived in Kyoto, it was quite hard to pick a favourite. I sat on a lovely park bench and looked up to see the first signs of the cherry blossoms beginning to spring from their rough branches. This would be my first spring in Japan and I was so looking forward to the festivities that surrounded the cherry blossoms. Bill and I had made plans to go to Osaka together, to see them at the castle there, but I guess I would be going on my own now. I had already booked a few days off of work, and had booked a hotel, so I wasn't going to let him ruin this for me.

When I came back to the apartment, Bill and most of his stuff was gone. He left me a note, again begging my forgiveness and I crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage.

The next week was a bit of a blur. I had picked up a few extra classes to allow for some extra spending money on my vacation, so when I came home on Thursday to my new roommate, a vivacious brunette with a pixie cut and a Georgian accent, I had completely forgotten that today was the day she would be arriving.

"You must be Sookie. I'm Amelia." She came up and gave me a hug. "I'm so excited to be here, and to be sharing a room with another southern gal? And a great apartment? I really hit the jackpot! What happened to your other roommate?"

She really cut right to the chase. "I was living with my boyfriend, but we recently ended our relationship."

"Ah, well I'm sorry to hear that. How are you holding up?"

"Wonderfully. He was cheating on me with one of the staff at his school."

"Ah, what an asshole." I liked her already.

We spent the next few days getting acquainted and showing Amelia the sights, including the local foreigner bar, and the 100 yen store. Her and I were kindred spirits and hit it off from the beginning.

About a week after she arrived, it was time for my trip to Osaka. As much fun as I was having with Amelia, it would be nice to have a little bit of a break and spend a bit of time on my own. It was one of the things I enjoyed most about Japan. No one really bothered you if you didn't want to be bothered.

I packed my backpack full of cute sundresses and flip flops, thrilled to be breaking free of the chilly winter season. The temperature was about on par with Louisiana, but our apartment was much cooler than gran's house or the dorm at LSU. I arrived at Kyoto station about 30 minutes before my train was scheduled to leave and spent a few minutes browsing at the convenience/souvenir stands that lined the station. I picked out a few delicious snacks for the train ride and went to wait on the platform. I headed down the escalator, around the stairs and headed smack into Bill. Of course he would be here. We booked the tickets and time off together. I mentally smacked myself in the head.

"Sookie, I was hoping I'd see you here." Bill embraced me, while I kept my arms by my sides. I hated that his embrace felt so familiar.

"I forgot that you would be here or I would have rebooked." I gave him my best death stare.

"This will be a good opportunity for us to talk Sookie." The train pulled up and I quickly took a seat, with him shoving a little old man to get into the seat beside me."You have to understand. You misinterpreted what you saw."

"I don't think there would be any way to misinterpret what I saw Bill."

"I was, ah, merely showing her the difference in endowment between myself and the men she has seen. She has spent months trying to convince me that her husband is as well endowed as I am."

I sat there, disgusted, but oddly fascinated with his ridiculous rationalization. There were a couple of problems with this story that I didn't have the heart or the interest in pointing out to Bill. Firstly, having been intimate with Bill, I was certain that Yuki was probably right. Bill had nothing to brag about in the endowment area. Secondly, he was completely delusional to think that that severed as a valid excuse for being in bed with someone. Third, I knew he was doing much more than showing her his girth. I had walked in on full out penetration, not a simple, childish game of I'll show you mine if you show me yours. Fourthly, she was married? Could this situation get any more absurd?

"Bill, I'm going to sit over there. Please don't follow me." I pulled my bag out from the overhead compartment and climbed over a sleeping business man, so there was no place for Bill to follow me to.

I put my Ipod, blaring The Shins for a bit of mellow listening. About three stops later, the business man got up and Bill slid in beside me once again, plucking the earbud from my ear.

"Sookie, please, I'll do whatever it takes, we can go back to the US, just please give me another chance. We can make this work."

I removed the other earbud. "Bill, we're so over, we need a new word for over." I loved when I got to quote Carrie Bradshaw in everyday life. It happened so rarely. "I'm not interested in going anywhere with you, including Osaka. Please just leave me alone." I replaced my headphones. Bill sat beside me, the rest of the trip in silence. I was thankful that I'd changed the hotel reservation to a single, and it was in my name. I didn't really care what he did when we got there, as long as it wasn't with me.

We pulled into Osaka station around 2pm. I shot Bill my best death stare, grabbed my bag and headed to the hotel. It was about a five minute walk from the station and I could feel Bill behind me the entire time. I smiled, knowing that I had got the last single room and he would have to find elsewhere to stay. As predicted, there were no rooms at the inn. I snickered to myself as a dejected Bill turned around and headed out the door. Hopefully that would be the last of him. I checked in, using my most polite broken Japanese and headed up the elevator to the 10th floor and opened the door to the closet that was going to be my home for the next four days. I hopped in, took a quick shower and headed down to use the hotel onsen, to soak some of my troubles away.

***

Eric

I got off the plane in Tokyo and was immediately hit by a rush of humidity. We certainly didn't have that in Norway this time of year. I was sorry that I had worn such a heavy suit, but it was often cold on the plane. I spent a lot of time on planes, managing my company's interests in Asia. I was here about one week a month, dealing with angsty buyers and sellers. My business was international seafood trading, Atlantic to Pacific, which was quite lucrative. My father had started the business as a young man and turned it into quite the empire. He was nearing retirement, so in the past few years, my role had increased dramatically, and required extensive travel. Pam often jokingly referred to me as a fish monger in a suit, but it was far more than that. I prided myself on being involved in every stage of the process, from spending time on the boats, ensuring things were done correctly, to making sure our product was properly prepared in Asian stores.

Pam, the last person who I wanted to think of this week. I should have seen it, all the signs were there long before I made my discovery a few days ago.

I had known Pam since we were both 5 or 6. Our parents travelled in a close social circle, so we were always together, for as long as I could remember. We went to the same elementary school, but then split into our own respective private boys and girls schools. When we were about 15, we started getting bored during the endless dinners and functions we were both forced to attend by our society climbing parents and started sneaking off together. Going to same sex schools had impacted on our ability to meet other teenagers of the opposite sex, so our mutual attraction started growing about the same time we hit puberty. At first we would sneak off with a bottle of wine and just talk, then that graduated to heavy petting and making out, and before I knew it, we were having sex in a coatroom at a christmas party. Pam and I were quite compatible and had always been friends, so we were of course very comfortable with each other. When our parents found out, instead of being disappointed, they were thrilled. We would be a perfect match on the society page. We went off to university together, living in a co-ed dorm, breaking up from time to time, but always finding our way back to each other, and have phenomenal make-up sex. I guess that's when I should have started to get the idea that something was amiss.

During our third year of university, Pam started to make passing suggestions about experimenting sexually. I thought I had the coolest girlfriend in the world, when she started suggesting girls that would could have threesomes with. I always had a very healthy sex drive, and that was one of the reasons that Pam and I were able to sustain our relationship for as long as we had. We fucked over all the problems. Our first threesome was a huge hit, Pam wasn't jealous like I thought most girlfriends would be and the girl she picked out was smoking hot. We started including a third more and more regularly, until one day, when I realized that the two of us hadn't had sex alone in about a month. As tempting as it was to fuck this problem away, it was something I wanted to discuss. She agreed that we should try and get back to just us, and for a couple of years, everything was fine. We had always been very close, so we were able to move by any weirdness.

When we graduated and I started travelling with work, we continued to maintain our relationship and sex life, although it was reduced, since I was away. Last spring, under immense pressure from my parents, I proposed, with the engagement ring my father had given my mother years before. She accepted and we moved into a lovely townhouse in downtown Oslo, that she immediately decorated with her impeccable taste. We made every society page for months, as everyone guessed when we would marry and where, and who would design her dress. I was away more and more, and Pam started travelling with a girl friend, to South America and other far off destinations. I was happy that she wasn't sitting around missing me, since she had decided to do her Masters part-time and was working at home a lot.

Last week, I returned home a day early, from a short trip to Taiwan. I opened the door and immediately heard noises that could not be mistaken for anything but sex. Pam was quite into pornography, so I snickered to myself, thinking I'd caught her rubbing one out on her own, waiting for me to return. I quietly put my bag down and slowly climbed the stairs to our second floor bedroom. I opened the door to find Pam face down in Mara, one of her socialite travel companions. Neither of them paid any attention to me, until I cleared my throat and leaned on the doorframe.

Pam quickly gathered herself. "Eric, I, uh, wasn't expecting you home until tomorrow." She blushed a bright shade of red, which was compounded by her flushed state from her earlier activity.

"Well here I am. Mara, would you give me a few minute alone with my fiancee?" I shot the short haired blond a look that could have been described as hostile.

"Uh, sure Eric." She quickly pulled on her clothes and was out the door. I was left alone with Pam, clad only in a bedsheet.

"Pam, I believe I'm owed a bit of an explanation here." I was surprised how calm I was. I think this was the moment I realized that I had played a major part in a lie that Pam had been telling herself for many years. This was most certainly not about me, although I felt my heart break a little when I looked at her.

"Eric, I wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you years ago." Pam looked at me, tears streaming down her face. "But then you proposed, and we moved in here, and everyone was so happy. And you, why wouldn't you be enough? You are gorgeous, amazing in bed, and my best friend. But it's not you, its never been about you. Its about me."

"Pam, I am leaving for Japan in two days and I will be gone for two weeks. Please have your things out of my house when I return. If it makes you feel better, you can blame this on me to your parents." I knew her parent's reaction was a huge reason for her living her lie for so long. They were very conservative. "We will talk when I return, I just need some time to think."

I didn't actually have a trip to Japan booked, but I made the arrangements quickly. Japan was the one place where I could count on not having any interruptions. I had visited many times, but never just for pleasure, it was always about business. No one knew me there, no one would bother me. I needed some time to process everything. I had been with Pam, on and off, for over ten years. I had planned to marry her. She was like an extension of me, one that it turned out, I hadn't known as well as I thought I had.

I quickly shuffled through customs, no one giving me a second look, although my 6'5 frame and blond hair caused me to stick out like a sore thumb. I caught an airport shuttle into the city center and checked into my usual hotel. I unpacked and took a shower, but instead of my usual packed schedule full of meetings, I had nothing planned. I went downstairs and headed to the concierge desk.

"Hello, do you have any suggestions for activities to do this time of year?" Japan was big on seasons. It was April, there must be some festival or something that would be worth taking in.

"The cherry blossoms have started to bloom in Osaka. They are very beautiful. If you take the bullet train, you can be there in two hours."

"If I went, I'd have to stay the night. Can you make me a hotel booking? I will keep my booking here as well and store my things in the room."

"Of course, Mr. Northman. I will make you a booking at the Hilton in Osaka. Since you are such a good customer, I will have you upgraded to a suite with a private onsen."

"Thank you." I headed back upstairs, packing an overnight bag and a change of clothes for the next day. I was always impressed by Japan's transit system, you could get to any of the major cities within a couple of hours in relative comfort. I hailed a cab and headed for the station.

Three hours later, after I had checked into the hotel, I caught the local train to Osaka castle, where the concierge recommended I view them. I wasn't a big fan of flower viewing, but from my past experience in Japan, it would be the perfect place to get caught up in a crowd and disappear for a while. I stopped at the station and grabbed a bento box for dinner and went to sit under the trees for a bit, hoping for a bit of peace.

I was through my rice and soup and digging into the chicken teriyaki when I was disrupted from the peaceful white noise of a language that I didn't really understand enough to have to listen to, by a couple yelling at each other. Feeling a bit relieved that I wasn't the only one having relationship issues, I listened in discreetly. At least I was fairly certain that the problems I was having had very little to do with me. Whatever this fight was about, it was certainly about the brown-haired man with the bitter face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Since you guys seemed to like the last chapter, and reviewed the hell out of it, here's the next! If you haven't tried okonomiyaki, you really should, its pretty much the best food ever! Thanks so much for all the reviews! I was a bit nervous to start an AH story, but it seems to be going ok!**

"Bill, how many times do I have to tell you to LEAVE. ME. ALONE." The curvy blond, that I identified as having some sort of southern American accent, pushed away from the man and stomped away.

"Sookie, just give me another chance." They were coming closer to me. I pretended to put my head back in my food.

"I cannot believe you followed me here. If I knew how to call the police and get a restraining order, I would, Bill Compton. You are harassing me." He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and I brought my head up again.

"You are so difficult. Why won't you just accept that you are mine?" He shook her a little, and that's when I decided to step in. He had escalated this from a lover's spat to a domestic dispute. I stood up and walked up to them, which was only about 10 feet away from where I'd been sitting.

"Is there a problem here Miss?" I searched her face and she looked annoyed, and a little bit afraid.

"Everything is fine, thank you for your concern." The man, whose name I took to be Bill, spat at me.

"Miss?" I looked at her, completely ignoring him. Her eyes filled with tears.

"This is between me and my girlfriend. Please leave us alone." He continued to hold onto her shoulders.

"Bill Compton, I am not your girlfriend. Let me go." She struggled, attempting to get out of his ever tightening grasp. I moved to her side, removing his hands from her shoulders. She moved back, out of his reach.

"That's better." She smiled up at me weakly and mouthed thank you. "Now, if you are not his girlfriend, would you like to have dinner with me?" Sure, I had already eaten, but it seemed like a good way to pry him away from her for a bit. I could handle some interaction with anyone whose life was more fucked up than mine at the moment.

She searched my face, trying to determine if I was someone she should be afraid of. I looked down and saw her, for the first time since intruding on their spat. She was quite beautiful, dressed in a red and white sundress that looked lovely with the pinkish/white flowers that were surrounding us. "I don't even know your name."

"I'm Eric Northman. And you are?"

"Sookie, Sookie Stackhouse." Her eyes matched mine, almost exactly.

"So would you like to go have dinner?"

"Ok, yes, I would." She turned to Bill. "Goodbye Bill." She spat at him "I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay. Keep away from me or I will figure out how to contact the police here." She started to walk away and I followed her, looking back at a very angry, steaming Bill, his hands clenched in fists.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, and then she looked up at me. "Thank you for that, but you didn't have to get involved. And you don't have to take me for dinner."

"He was bothering you. I don't believe a man should treat a woman like that." We walked silently for a bit, and I was surprised how comfortable I felt around her, for someone I had only met about ten minutes before. "I have a favourite restaurant here. Do you like okonomiyaki?"

"I do, but I haven't had it in Osaka. I hear its supposed to be fantastic. Something about added noodles?"

"Then okonomiyaki it is." We walked for a few more minutes and then I opened the door to a very traditional, hole in the wall establishment. We found a table and sat down, and she laughed as I folded myself into the tiny chair.

"You are certainly out of place here. Where are you from? You really didn't have to take me out for dinner."

"I'm from Norway. Its no problem. I had to eat anyway." Lies, but oh well. I wasn't really hungry, but I did like okonomiyaki.

"I insist that you let me treat then." She was stubborn, in a polite southern girl kind of way.

"You can buy us a beer later." I really hadn't thought much past dinner, but I guess I just extended our evening plans to include a beer. I looked over at her adorable face and quickly decided that I'd made the right decision.

She looked a bit surprised at my forwardness, but smiled back at me. "Deal. So what brings you to Osaka?"

I really didn't want to talk about what really brought me here, so I went with the short version. "I visit Japan quite often on business, but I decided to take a pleasure trip. What about you?"

"I teach English to children in Kyoto. I'm just here for a few days."

"Trying to get away from Bill?"

She laughed. "We were supposed to come together as a little trip, but we broke up a couple of weeks ago. He decided that it would be a good time to reconcile, but that won't be happening. He's been following me around like that for two days now, hounding me to take him back."

"Charming. Why did you break up, if you don't mind me asking?" Probably shouldn't have pushed it by asking that.

"He was cheating on me. I caught him in our bed with one of his co-workers." She shrugged. "I should have known, he did it before, a couple of years ago, with his tutor of all people, but I chose to stay with him then."

"You are handling it very well. It must be hard for you, being away from everyone and breaking up with your boyfriend."

She looked thoughtful before answering. "I don't have a lot of family, only a brother and we aren't terribly close. I have a wonderful new roommate that's been a great help though. Deep down, I always knew Bill was a bit of an ass anyway, it actually feels good to be free of him." She smiled at me, and something warmed inside of me.

Our food came and we spent the rest of our meal talking about our lives, me conveniently leaving Pam out of the conversation, which was hard to do, since she was such a part of my life. I loved watching her eat, enjoying every bite of our delicious meal, letting out small moans at she took in every bite. At one point, quite naturally, she leaned over and wiped a bit of the sauce from the corner of my mouth.

"I'm sorry, I hardly know you and I'm cleaning up your face." She shook her head.

"No problem. You were saving me the embarrassment of having food on my face. We can call it even for earlier."

She laughed at me. "You saved me from an embarrassing scene in front of thousands of people. I owe you more than a face wipe. Let's go get that beer." I paid the bill, and we got up, heading down the street to a tiny bar. We sat up on a couple of stools and had our beer.

"I've never been to Norway. What's it like? Is it really cold? How is your English so good?"

"Not this time of year. The winters are very cold, and dark, but the spring, summer and fall are very nice. My mother is Canadian, so I grew up speaking English and Norwegian." I cringed internally at the idea of going back and dealing with the mess that was my life. I hadn't even told my parents.

We talked and laughed and had many more beers, both of us getting a bit silly. It turned out we actually both had a lot in common. We were both European history majors, both liked strawberry ice cream the best, and had a strong dislike of mushrooms, and the smell of ramen, although I argued that the taste far made up for it. Finally we got up, and I offered to walk her back to her hotel. We staggered down the streets together, and I walked her to into her hotel and up to her hotel room, which was really more of a closet. She laughed, watching me take it in. "It was all that was available."

"You should see the room I got upgraded to."I laughed as we fumbled with the futon, trying to put it together.

"Note to self, set up futon before going out and getting hammered with a complete stranger." I laughed as she topped over and fell down, as she tried to pull the sheet over the futon. I helped her up and when she sufficiently had it sent up, I went to say goodbye, a big part of me wishing I didn't have to. She was really quite charming and beautiful, even after 8 or 9 beers. I decided to take a chance. I really wasn't ready to be alone.

"Do you want to come and check out the onsen in my room?" I figured, she'd been ok with me coming to her room, so it was ok asking her to come check mine out.

"I love onsens." Her eyes lit up. "Its right in the room?"

"Yep, and its huge."

"Let me grab my bathing suit." She rummaged around in her bag, pulling out a very tiny black and white polka dot bikini and stuffing it into her oversized purse. I knew, customarily, naked was the only acceptable attire for an onsen, but I was willing to make an exception if she was. We had just met after all.

We left her room and staggered another three or four blocks to the Hilton. I slipped an arm around her, holding her up, when in reality, I wasn't in any better shape to be holding anyone up. We took the elevator to the penthouse, and I was a bit embarrassed for a moment to be staying in such an upscale room, after seeing her sleeping arrangements.

Sookie's jaw dropped as she took in the massive suite. "You have a real bed. I haven't slept in a real bed since I left the States." She went over and lay on it, making herself quite at home. I checked my messages and saw that I had four missed calls, two from Pam and two from my parents. They could wait until tomorrow. I turned my ringer off and went in the bathroom to change, realizing that I didn't have any swimming attire. My boxer briefs would have to do. I came out, and she was already in the hot water, soaking it all in. I climbed in across from her. Her breasts looked magnificent in her bikini.

"This is the best." She stretched her legs out, kicking the water a bit.

"I do agree. Do you want anything else to drink?" Not that either of us needed it, but I didn't want things to get uncomfortable as we both sobered up. I was enjoying spending time with someone who knew absolutely nothing about me and she was so adorable. My business trips were usually so solitary and I couldn't leave my house in Oslo without someone recognizing me, so the ambiguity was a real treat.

"Let's get some ume shu!" Plum wine. That would go well with the glut of beer in my stomach.

I walked across the onsen room to the phone and ordered a bottle. When I turned around, I caught Sookie ogling my behind. I winked at her and resisted teasing her about it, but even in my inebriated state, I didn't want to upset her, since she'd had a rough day and she was in a room with a strange man. I wrapped a towel around my waist and grabbed the bottle and the two glasses that were sent up and eased myself back into the hot water, pouring us each a hearty glass.

"Cheers." We clinked glasses. "To new beginnings." She smiled at me. Was it that obvious I was running away from something or was I reading too much into her drunken toast?

* * *

***

Sookie

I awoke the next morning with a raging headache. As I opened my eyes and took in the lavish suite, bits and pieces of last night started coming back to me. I looked down and saw that I was still in my bikini from last night, but that one of my breasts had popped out of it, after a night of tossing and turning. I quietly tucked it back in and cringed as I rolled over, hoping upon hoping that I had not jumped into bed with my white knight after a night of revelry. And I had. As I slowly rolled over on the impossibly soft bed, I came face to face with the gorgeous man that I had spent the last night lusting over. He was gorgeous, far too gorgeous to be interested in someone like me. He was still sleeping, but stirred a little, wrapping an arm around me. I froze. He mumbled something, in Norwegian and pulled me close to him. He mumbled something else that sounded like Pam and I gasped. Was he married? He hadn't mentioned anyone. I did a quick wedding ring scan and found nothing, not even a tan line. I would have noticed that yesterday. Maybe he was married and just didn't wear one. Maybe Pam was his sister, or his mother, or his girlfriend. I was an awful person, what if he had a girlfriend, or a wife? I tried to pull away a bit, as my bladder was well in need of emptying. As I wriggled from his arms, his eyes snapped open and he looked terrified for a minute and then relaxed, as he recognized me from yesterday.

"Sookie." He unwrapped his arms from around my waist. "How are you feeling?" He did a quick check and looked relieved to see that his boxers were still intact, but then looked mortified to see he was suffering from a case of morning wood. I looked away to spare him any further embarrassment, although I did note that he was not suffering in that department, in the brief second my eyes lingered.

"I'm ok, I just really need to go to the washroom." I got up and practically sprinted to the bathroom, closing the door. I was thankful to see two fluffy robes hanging up and quickly pulled one on, once I had relieved myself. I did a quick check, and I looked like shit. Of course I did. I was the most hungover I could ever remember myself being. Amelia was going to love this story. I did my best to clean the gunked on mascara from my eyes, took a deep breath, and emerged from the bathroom. Eric had pulled on a pair of lounge pants, but I couldn't help from take a longer than necessary look at his gorgeous abs.

"I guess I should get going." I gathered up my clothes from the pile on the floor and pulled my dress back over my head. "Thanks for dinner and for the company. You were a great distraction."

"You are most welcome." He smiled that million dollar smile at me. "And Sookie?" I turned around, as I prepared to walk of shame out the door.

"Yea?"

"You are fantastic. You don't need someone like Bill."

"Thanks." I headed out the door and walked the four blocks back to my hotel closet, crawled into my uncomfortable futon and prepared to sleep off the worst hangover of my life.


	3. Chapter 3

**So since its Christmas Eve and you've all been such good elves, writing reviews and adding me to story alert, I have decided to gift you with an extra long chapter. I hope you will, in return keep the reviews coming, you know, in the spirit of the holiday season and all...**

Eric

Once Sookie left, I chided myself for not getting her number. We had had a lot of fun last night, just hanging out, and I was in Japan frequently enough that I could have probably seen her again sometime. I checked the messages on the phone, dreading the fallout that was bound to come from the demise of my engagement. My life was beyond complicated.

"Eric, its Pam. I know I promised I wouldn't call, but I stopped by your parents house to drop off your ring and your mom didn't know anything about anything. You should really call her, she's quite upset. I can't believe you spent two days in Oslo before you left and didn't tell her."

Great. Good work Pam. Next.

"Eric, its Pam again. I didn't tell your mom what happened. I thought I'd let you decide what you wanted to tell them. I told my parents the truth though. I can't believe you would think I would want to blame any of this on you. Call me when you get back."

"Eric, its your mom. Please call. Pamela stopped by and dropped off her engagement ring and I can't get ahold of you. She said something about you going to Japan for two weeks? Please call me."

"Eric, I'm very worried about you. Please give me a call." Ok, I would give her a quick call.

"Hi Mom."

"Eric, I've been so worried. Are you ok? Pamela said that you broke off your engagement? She dropped off her ring here last night."

"I'm ok. I just needed to get away for a bit. Pam and I are, well heading in different directions. We decided to end things." Actually Pam and I were heading in a very similar direction, but I didn't need to give my mom that visual. It was enough that I had to see it.

"What happened baby?" Twenty-eight and I would always be her baby.

"She met someone else Mom. Its probably my fault, I've been away so much."

"Eric, this is not your fault. Is it someone you know?"

"Mom, I don't really want to get into the details. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. I love you, and please don't worry about me. I'm doing ok."

"Bye Eric. Please call if you need anything."

I laid there for an hour or so, willing my headache to disappear, and processing the events of the previous evening. I had a beautiful girl in my bed and I just let her walk out the door. I was upset about Pam, sure, but I hadn't even gotten her email address. She was pretty great too. She had a great sense of humour, was completely charming and had tremendous breasts. I had always been a breast man. Was I going to let this thing with Pam ruin my life? As I thought about it more and more, Pam had checked of our relationship long ago, why was I hanging around, throwing myself a pity party? I was tired of doing what was expected of me. It was time for me to do what I wanted for a change, instead of what I should be doing.

I felt like death. I never drank to excess, it was something I prided myself on. The idea of drinking anything, ever again, really made me feel like I was going to throw up.

I pulled myself out of bed, hopped in the shower and pulled on some jeans and a polo and started to devise a plan.

I headed down to the lobby and got directions to the nearest flower shop and picked up a gigantic arrangement and headed over to Sookie's hotel.

I approached the desk. "Can you please call Ms. Stackhouse for me? She's staying on the 10th floor."

"I'm sorry sir, Ms. Stackhouse has her do not disturb setting on her phone activated. Would you like to leave a message?" Of course she did. After the fiasco she'd been through with Bill, I was surprised she was actually checked in under her name.

I considered leaving a message, but I didn't want to take the chance she wouldn't get it. "Is she up in her room?"

"Yes, I believe so. I haven't seen her come by." Of course, even in a foreigner filled city like Osaka, Sookie would stick out like a sore thumb. The clerk would know if she walked by.

"Then I think I'll wait for her for a bit." It was 2pm. She'd get hungry eventually. I called the Hilton to book another night in my suite. At about 3:30pm, she came around the corner, wearing a beautiful yellow dress that was set off by her tan. She had her hair loose around her shoulders and a little bit of makeup on. She looked stunning.

She eyed me curiously, as I stuck out like a sore thumb in her lobby. "Eric, what are you doing here?"

I unfolded myself from the tiny chair I'd spent the last two hours in. "I realized that I let you leave without getting your phone number or email address or anything." I handed over the elaborate flowers, which now seemed a bit too much for a girl that I had just met yesterday. "These are for you."

She laughed her delightful laugh, "Thanks, I'm not sure they'll fit in my room, but just let me run them up. I'm heading out for some food, do you want to come?"

I tried not to act overeager, remembering that I had no idea how to properly date anyone. "Sure, I could eat."

"Ok, stay right here then, I'll be right back." She quickly walked around the corner and up the stairs.

When she returned, 5 minutes later, I realized that I'd been sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for her to return. I quickly gathered myself and stood up, opening the hotel door for her.

"What do you feel like eating?" She looked up at me.

"Let's do sushi. Do you know anywhere?"

"I've only been to Osaka a couple of times, but I'm sure we can find somewhere." We set out, laughing at signage in broken English, and talking like old friends. We finally decided on a restaurant with a sushi train and I pulled out her seat for her.

"So, I have to be honest with you. I left out a pretty major part of my story yesterday." I had decided to tell her everything, since she'd been so forthcoming with me. She really was lovely. The sparkle in her eye brought an instant smile to my face. It was like a reflex. I couldn't even look at her without smiling.

"Oh? Listen, Eric, I'm sorry I vented so much about Bill last night. I'm really over it, I am. It was a long time coming."

"Please don't worry about that. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me. The truth is, I was relieved to hear that I wasn't the only one in such a fucked up relationship."

"So you were leaving someone out. I had the feeling you were. And you said something about Pam when we were in bed together this morning." She blushed at the memory.

"Seriously?" I did? Wow, that's embarrassing. Now I was the one blushing a bit. A nice masculine blush of course."Pam is my, well, ex-fiancee. We ended things a few days ago."

"Oh, and you skipped the country to get away. That must have been ugly." She laughed an awkward laugh.

"It actually wasn't ugly at all. I don't know why, because we have been together on and off for the better part of a decade."

Sookie's eyes went wide. "Wow. What was the catalyst?" I guess she had the right to ask, since I'd asked her last night.

"I found her in bed with someone else."

"And you aren't furious? I thought I was the only one who wouldn't be furious when finding someone in bed with their boyfriend, or in your case, girlfriend."

"Well, looking back on the bulk of our relationship, I kind of figured out that her decision had very little to do with anything I did or didn't do. I found her in bed with a friend. A female friend."

She cringed a bit. "Ouch."

"Honestly, I don't know how I didn't see it coming. I was away so much with work and Pam has always had a strong interest in threesomes. I just thought I was lucky at the time, but it turns out that it was a way for her to explore her sexual tendencies I guess, without cutting me out of the equation."

"Yea, I can't say I'd be thrilled if my boyfriend of ten years proposed a threesome."

"She was always the one proposing them. We talked about it and decided to stop doing them a few years ago, because we weren't have sex together anymore, you know, just the two of us, but I guess she couldn't change who she was." I shrugged. "And I would never want her to live a lie for me. I love her, and I'll always love her, but I know when a battle is worth fighting and I can't compete with a vagina."

She laughed. "No, I guess you can't."

***

Sookie

I was a bit shocked, but very excited when I came downstairs to go out for a bite to eat and turned the corner to find Eric sitting there, holding what looked to be a very expensive and elaborate flower arrangement. I really thought last night was the universe sending me a 'keep looking' sign, after my multiple run ins with Bill. He was so nice last night, and such a perfect gentleman, but I honestly expected never to see him again. He was from Norway for crying out loud, and its not as though he asked for any of my contact information.

My heart broke a little when he told me about Pam. That had to be a major kick in the ego department, especially after all those years together. I really wasn't sure how someone rejected someone as gorgeous as Eric. He seemed to be coping all right though, that or he was really putting on his game face. I took a little longer to examine his face, than I had last night. He was way out of my league, I mean, he could have easily been a model. His hair was cut quite short around his face and we shared the same straw blond hair. I could see his lean, but muscular frame through his polo shirt. I looked away, because I didn't want to look like I was ogling him, especially when he had just finished telling me about the demise of his engagement. We finished our dinner and headed back to my hotel, taking a much longer route than necessary.

"Thanks for joining me for dinner. In all honesty, I never thought I'd see you again."

"I had a bit of a change of heart after you left. We had so much fun. It was stupid of me just to let you leave, without having any way of getting in touch with you again. Here's my card." He handed it over to me.

I pulled a scrap of paper out of my purse and scratched down my details. "Here's my email address and cell number. Let me know if you ever make it down to Kyoto or whatever." I wasn't delusional enough to think that we were soulmates or anything, but we did have a good time, and I wouldn't mind seeing him again sometime. It sounded like he spent a bit of time in Japan, so maybe he would be around, or I could take a quick trip to Tokyo to see him. I had to head back to Kyoto in the morning, so this really was goodbye.

"Thanks for listening Sookie. I will call you next time I'm in Japan." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "And call me if you have any more problems with Bill." He laughed.

"Will do. Goodbye Eric."

"Goodnight Sookie."

I packed up the next morning, my heart a little heavy. What were the odds that I would meet someone I connected with so strongly, here of all places, when we were both from opposite sides of the world. I really hoped he would call.

When I arrived back at my apartment a few hours later, huge elaborate flower arrangement in hand, Amelia looked at me like I was a bit nuts. "I guess you can add them to the pile over there." She pointed to a dozen roses. "Are those courtesy of Bill as well?"

Why was Bill sending me flowers? Seriously, how thick was he? "No, they aren't. I met someone in Osaka, who saved me after Bill stalked me for two days. These are from him."

Amelia got into gossip mode, pulling me onto our tiny couch. "Do tell!"

"Well Bill was stalking me around Osaka Castle and was embarrassing me in front of thousands of people, and this very hot Norwegian guy, Eric, stepped in and took me out for dinner. We got a bit drunk and ended up back in his hotel room."

"You go girl!" Amelia went to hi-five me and I gave her a sympathy slap. I wasn't too into the hi-fives, but she sure was.

"Nothing happened, we just passed out from far too many beers, combined with a bottle of ume shu, and I left in the morning and he didn't ask for my number or anything, but the next afternoon, when I left my hotel to get some food, he was waiting in the lobby, with these flowers. We went to dinner and just talked again. He gave me his card and said he would call next time he was around."

"The next time he was around Japan?" Amelia looked at me oddly.

"He does business here. Something with importing and exporting seafood. Atlantic/Pacific trading stuff."

"Very nice. Let's Google him. What's his last name?"

"Amelia, we can't Google him. Isn't that rude?"

"Sookie, its the 21st century. You'd be a fool not to Google him."

"Fine, its Northman, Eric Northman." Amelia feverishly typed his name into the search engine.

"Whoa Sook, you did well." She turned her laptop to show a gorgeous picture of Eric at some sort of press conference. His hair was much longer, but it was unmistakably him. "Looks like he's a big deal in Norway." She brought up page after page of news stories, most of them shoddily translated articles from the social pages. There were a few pictures, including an official engagement photo of him and a beautiful petite blond, who I assumed was Pam. She was gorgeous, of course and they looked like a Norwegian Barbie and Ken, both in Nordic sweaters.

"Gross."Amelia exclaimed. "You didn't pick up a guy in a Nordic sweater did you Sook?"

I laughed. "No, he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans when we met, I promise. His hair was also much shorter, but that's totally him."

"What's the deal with the fiancee?"

"They are done. It turns out, he's not her type."

"How could he not be anyone's type?"Amelia had a moment of clarity. "Ohhhh, you mean she prefers the fairer sex."

"Yes, he caught her in bed with a friend last week, which is why he was in Osaka. I guess Japan really is the perfect escape."

Amelia snorted. "You are telling me. The Pacific ocean has done wonders for my relationship with my Dad."

***

Eric

I wanted desperately to call her. I had headed back to Tokyo the next morning and booked several business meetings, even though I had set aside these two weeks as a bit of a break for me, to get my shit together, not to be rushing into some fling, with a person as fucking amazing as her. She was better than that. I had decided that if anything was going to happen between us, I didn't want to to be a rebound situation. I wanted it to develop organically. I would be back in a month, and I would call her then, and take a couple of days and go down to Kyoto. If anything was going to happen, it could wait a month.

After about four days of awful business meetings, forced visits to hostess bars, karaoke boxes, and have strained conversations, I broke. I was sitting in my hotel room, trying to think up an excuse not to go out with some business partners for the umpteenth time, and I had enough. I rummaged through my suitcase, found the number that I had carefully zipped into a side pocket, and called.

"Uh, is Sookie there?"

"Yes, this is Sookie." She sounded like she'd been sleeping. I checked the clock, it was nearly 11pm. Had she been sleeping? Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Its Eric, from uh, last week. Sorry, did I wake you?"

I could hear her brighten up even over the phone. "No, no, I was just watching a movie with my roommate. How are you?"

I'm great, I can't stop thinking about you. "Fine, I just thought I'd call and see what your week was like. I, uh, have a couple of extra days and I thought maybe you could show me around Kyoto." I had been to Kyoto several times. I had been to every temple, every tourist site, everything.

"Well, I work tomorrow, but then I have a couple of days off. How's your schedule for Friday and Saturday?"

I cleared my throat, trying to avoid sounding like I was going through puberty. "I think that works for me. Could I meet you Thursday after you finish work?" Boy, that didn't sound desperate at all.

"Sure, I'll email you the address. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." She didn't sound creeped out. That was a good sign. Right? It had to be.

"Yes, I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight Sookie." What was wrong with me? I was Eric Northman. I was strong and confident and a force to be reckoned with. I was all business. why was I coming across so desperate and needy? That wasn't the message I was trying to send.

I called my business associates and told them something had come up for the next few days, so I would be unavailable. I rummaged through my suitcase, looking for the perfect outfit to show up at Sookie's school in, finally deciding on dark jeans and a white button down shirt.

Then next morning, I walked through the lobby and the six blocks to the bullet train station. I bought my ticket, gasping at the price momentarily, but of course purchasing it, and sat down. I had brought my Ipod, and switched to some easy listening tunes, mostly from the states. I had always loved American music, but particularly the classics. The time flew by, and before I knew it, they were announcing the Kyoto stop. I got off, suitcase in hand, popped out of the station and stopped, right in front of the Astroboy statue. I'd loved Astroboy as a kid. I still had a t-shirt from the first time I'd visited Kyoto, about 8 years ago.

What was I doing here? Was I about to profess my undying love to a girl that I had met six days ago? We hadn't even kissed and I dropped 50,000 yen on a ticket to be here. Pam hadn't even moved out of our house yet. There was something about Sookie that drew me in, all I wanted to be was in her orbit. I felt something with her that I'd never felt before, like I could be myself. There was no Northman dynasty, no public image, just her and I. I had to know more. I wanted to know everything about her, what made her tick, what she liked, disliked, how she felt about everything. I had made the right decision. I had to see what this could be, even if it was nothing. I checked my watch, noting that I was meeting her in an hour and that it was about a 20 minute walk to her school from the station. That gave me 40 minutes to continue to talk myself into this. Who would have some good perspective on this situation? I sat down on a bench and called the only person I could think of.

I was greeted by a very grumbly hello.

"Pam? Shit, sorry, I didn't think of the time difference." It was very early this morning there, since I was 9 hours ahead, which made it about 6am.

"Its ok. How are you?" I could hear the concern in her voice. I was fairly certain everyone at home had decided that I had probably had a minor breakdown.

"I'm good. Just sitting at the train station in Kyoto."

"It must be beautiful this time of year." Pam had accompanied me on a couple of trips to Japan and always loved Kyoto. I had completely forgotten until I heard the yearning in her voice.

"Yea, the blossoms are almost in full bloom. Its a sea of pink. Listen Pam, this is a bit awkward, and I understand if you feel the urge to hang up on me, but I need some advice, and you were the only person who came to mind."

"Ok? What is it?" She sounded a bit apprehensive. Maybe this was a bad idea. No, Pam would want me to be happy.

"So I met someone, about a week ago. She's a teacher here, and I kind of rescued her from a terrible ex-boyfriend. We spent a very drunken night together, in which nothing happened, but we woke up together the next morning and I let her leave, but then changed my mind, bought her some flowers and took her out for dinner. We exchanged contact information and I had decided I wanted to wait a bit, and I would call her when I was here next month, but I kind of called her last night and asked her to show me around Kyoto. I'm at the station now, and I'm supposed to meet her at her job in," I checked my watch, "50 minutes. I'm a bit freaked out, and I'm not really sure what I'm doing here."

I knew she was smiling through the phone. I could hear it in her voice. "I'm glad you called. I really do feel awful about everything, and you being happy would make me feel much better. You need to tell her that you've already seen Kyoto though. And don't buy her anything else before you go meet her. It's too soon, she'll feel like your are trying to buy her affections. Just go, and see where things go. Don't have any expectations and you won't be let down. You deserve a bit of fun, so go have fun. And Eric?"

"Yea Pam?"

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are. I'll call you when I get back to Oslo, and let you know how it goes. Goodbye Pam."

I felt instantly better. Even when Pam and I were off, we were always friends. It was very odd for me not to talk to her almost daily, let alone go an entire week without talking. We would be ok, work out some sort of peace between us. I always wanted to be able to call her, like I had and share my life with her, even if it was never going to be our life. With a renewed spring in my step, I took off in search of Happy English School.

I knew it, as soon as I saw it. It was Sookie to a tee. A cozy, friendly building, with a little playground in the front and a couple of cherry blossom trees in full bloom. I opened the little gate and sat down on the bench to wait for her. About 5 minutes later, I was greeted by a sea of tiny Japanese children, who immediately swarmed me, touching my hair and my bare arms.

I sat, there, a little afraid to move, when I saw her open the door and emerge from the school, a tiny, adorable child in her arms, and two hanging off her legs.

"Eric, you found it ok? I was a little worried after I emailed you that you wouldn't find it." She set the small child down, and she immediately starting rubbing the hair on my arms. She parted the sea of children and sat down beside me, a couple of them crawling onto her lap. She was wearing an adorable blue shirtdress, which really brought out the blue in her eyes and a simple pair of black flats.

"Welcome to Kyoto. I can't believe you have been to Japan so many times, but haven't been here."

"Erm, actually I've been here several times. I was hoping for the Sookie tour." Wait, did that sound like I wanted to take a tour of her? I did, but that wasn't how I meant it to come out. If she thought I was a douche, she made nothing of it.

"I'm sure I can show you some local spots that aren't on the tourist maps. Did you book a hotel?"

"Yes, I booked a room at the Granvia, above the station."

"I hear its very nice."

"I haven't checked in yet. My room wasn't ready when I was there a little while ago, so I'll check in later."

Sookie stood up and I followed her lead, as she told the children to let me go. I got about a million 'bye byes' as we walked out the gate.

"Cute kids."

"Yea, they are pretty great. A bit grabby, probably because they haven't seen boobs like this before, but all and all, pretty great." I tried not to stare as she gestured to her chest. Now they were pretty great.

"I'm sorry to kind of drop myself on you last minute. I understand if you have plans for part of the time I'm here."

"Nope, no plans. I'm all yours." She blushed a bit. "So, since you've already been here, I will have to revise the mental itinerary I made last night. I know a lovely teahouse on the river that makes a mean and very large dinner bento. Do you want to check it out? I did promise I would call my roommate when we made plans. She's new in town, and doesn't have anything on the go tonight."

"Sure, that all sounds great."

She called her roommate as we walked, and after about ten minutes, we ended up at a table with a beautiful view of the river, bathed in cherry blossom pink. We sat down, our knees knocking together under the very small table. About ten minutes later, a tiny brunette with a pixie cut showed up, sliding into our table and knocking knees with both of us.

"Eric, this is my roommate Amelia. Amelia, Eric."

"Hey." She shot Sookie a smirk. What was that about?

"Hi, nice to meet you." I extended my hand. She took it, rather hesitantly. Do American's not shake hands?

We ordered, and Amelia warmed up after a bit. She was actually quite funny, although she embarrassed me quite badly when she mentioned she had googled me.

"Really, an engagement photo in a Nordic sweater? You are also getting ripped by the press in Norway right now. Everyone thinks you've had a breakdown."

"Yea, my Mom speaks to me as if I'm a bit of a mental case. I really do think I'm coping quite well."

"Well if anyone can deal with mental cases, its Sookie. By the way Sook, Bill sent another dozen. How he's affording that with what they pay us is beyond me. When did you cut your hair?" She looked back at me.

Sookie shot her a shut up look.

"So Bill's still trying to win you back is he?" I chuckled a little as she rolled her eyes.

"Yea, I'm not really sure where he's trying to take this. He just keeps sending flowers, dozens and dozens of flowers and I keep throwing them out and throwing them out."

"Has he stopped by?"

"Not that I know of. He's called but I screen and don't answer." She shrugged her shoulders. "I figured he'd get the idea eventually."

Amelia laughed. "That's an expensive way to figure out someone isn't interested. Anyway, I'm out for the night. Enjoy yourselves, you crazy kids. Oh, and Eric?"

"Yea?"

"Stay away from the Nordic sweaters. They don't do a thing for you." And with that she was gone.

Sookie laughed. "She's a pro at a strong exit. I guess you should check into your hotel. Maybe I'll walk with you."

"Sure, I don't think its as posh as the Osaka room, but I did manage to get a suite." We each paid our own part of the bill and walked together. Her hand brushed mine several times throughout the ten minute walk, but I just couldn't get up the nerve to grab it. I checked in, and we stood in the lobby for a moment, both of our minds racing.

"Do you want to come up for a bit? The clerk when I made the reservation said that I had the best view in the hotel."

She thought about it for a moment. "Sure, but just for a few minutes. I'm pretty tired." We took the elevator to the top floor, opened the door and Sookie gasped.

"Eric, this view is amazing. Look, you can see the giant red torii red gate over there." She plunked herself down on the bed, taking in every inch of the view. "I really love Kyoto, there's no where else like it."

I sat down beside her. "Its really lovely. Honestly, its one of my favourite places here." I looked into her stunning eyes, feeling a little bit lost in them.

"Nara is my favourite. Tell me you've been to Nara."

"Actually, I haven't been. I've only been to Kyoto because I used to do some business here. This is actually the first time, in the dozens of times I've visited Japan that I've had this much free time."

"Well then, we will go tomorrow. Its only a half hour away. If we leave early, we can spend the whole day there. Its got all the biggest and oldest everything."

"Sounds good. Sookie?"

"Yea?"

"Thanks for not being weird about me coming, so last minute and everything." It needed to be said. I kept finding myself astonished that she didn't think I was a crazy stalker, with the way I was acting. I really needed to figure out this dating thing again. I really hadn't had to think about it for a while.

"I'm glad you came. I don't know why, but I feel quite comfortable with you, like I've known you for much longer than a week." She slid in a little closer and I could feel the heat from her bare knee against my knee, through my jeans. I actually felt sparks when we made contact. I had an overwhelming urge to kiss her, to cross the friendly acquaintance line into something else, something a little murkier. After a short mental argument, I told the logical sign of my brain to shut up and just went for it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here you have it, the next installment! I hope everyone likes it! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and thanks for the reviews! Keep it coming!  
**

Sookie

Part of me couldn't believe he was actually here, but all of me was thrilled that he was. When I slid a bit closer, craving even the tiniest bit of contact with him, I felt sparks fly. I could almost see the turmoil in his eyes, and then as he shook it away and leaned in to kiss me. When our lips met, softly at first, but with an increasing urgency, I immediately quieted the part of my mind that was telling me this was a bad idea. It felt so right, nothing had ever felt so right. I slipped my tongue through his teeth, finding his and moving them in sync.

When he called, it was all I could do to not shriek like a little girl. I hadn't been able to get him off my mind, since we said goodbye. I was actually relieved that he had given me his contact information too, because if he hadn't called, I would have broken and called him, long distance charges be damned. I had already composed several emails, all of which had been deleted long before I sent them.

I wasn't sure where to put my hands. I felt them awkwardly laying against my sides, which felt pretty wrong. I guess I could hold his, or I could put them in his hair. I was a bit afraid of coming on too strong, considering the week he had had. Holding his hands seemed too intimate. I moved my hands into his hair, running my fingers through it.

After a couple of minutes, he pulled away. I felt a pang of loss as he removed his lips from mine. I searched his face, trying to figure out what just happened.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." He shook his head a couple of times. "I just really have no idea what I'm doing right now."

"What do you mean?" That was a damn good kiss. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"I didn't want to rush things. I really like you Sookie, and I don't want this to be a rebound thing. I should have waited to call you until next month, when everything wasn't so fresh, but I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I kept getting dragged to all these awful dinners and karaoke bars and I just wanted to see you." I watched him mentally smack himself in the face.

I thought about what he said, carefully crafting my response. "I like you too Eric, we don't have to rush things." No matter how much I really, really wanted to. I imagined my face quite flushed at the moment.

He looked at me, almost nervously for a moment, before brushing some stray hair out of my face and running my hands through it. He pulled my face towards his again, and resumed right where we had left off, before logic got in the way. His hands were in my hair now, so I was left, once again trying to figure out what to do with mine. I opted to slide them around his waist, pulling myself even closer to him. His body was as firm as I imagined, when I had snuck a look at his world class abs the week before.

We kissed for the better part of an hour, something I hadn't done since I was 14 years old, with Quinn, my high school boyfriend. But this was nothing like that. I wasn't nervous, and Eric wasn't an annoying jock, trying to round the bases with his younger girlfriend. I laughed in my head at the thought of trying to keep Quinn's hands out of my shirt. I wasn't worried about my technique, as my fourteen year old self had been. I was just going with it and it was fucking amazing. After what seemed like days, I untucked his shirt, moving my hands up his cool, firm back.

He opened his mouth, moaning at the contact. "Fuck, your hands are so warm."

I managed to mumble back an incoherent moan as he moved his hands from my hair and down my arms, nipping in at my waist and pulling me onto his lap. I guess his doubts from earlier had faded. I tightened my grip, pulling us both a little closer together, so my breasts were firmly pushed against his chest. I felt my nipples harden and ache at the contact. I was sitting on my knees, my calves pressed firmly against his thighs.

Then the worst possible thing that could have happened, happened. My phone rang. I tried to ignore the Astroboy theme song that I had downloaded when I got here, after seeing the statue at the station, but it just kept going and going. Whoever was calling was not giving up. I cursed myself for not turning the ringer off.

"I guess I should see who that is." Completely frustrated, I pulled myself away from the gorgeous man left sitting on the end of the bed. He smirked at me as I stomped over and pulled my phone out of my purse. When I saw who was calling, it was all I could do not to throw it out the window, passerbyers be damned.

"Its fucking Bill." I hissed at the phone. I was about to hit ignore when Eric got up and gestured at me to hand him the phone. I shrugged and handed it over.

He pressed the green button, and cool as a cucumber, answered. "This is Sookie's phone."

I heard some mumbling. "No, I'm sorry, she's not available to talk right now."

More mumbling, a little louder this time. "Its Eric, yes, I believe we met last week, in Osaka."

"Yes, she is here, but she's just not available to talk to you." More mumbling, a little more angry this time. Eric was as cool as could be, taking a moment to wink at me. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. You have a lovely evening. Oh, and Bill? Give it up with the flowers, its not getting you anywhere." He pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed the red button. I sat down on the floor roaring with laughter.

"I can't believe you did that. He's probably plotting your death right now. I better call Amelia in case he goes over there." He handed me my cellphone and I called her.

"Ames, Bill just called and Eric answered. He's pissed, so I wanted to warn you in case he came by. Yea, it was fucking awesome. All I could hear was him getting angry. Eric was so calm, I'm sure he's infuriated. Yea, I'll see you later. Call if you have any problems. Night."

I looked back over at Eric, who was still smirking at me. He took my hand, and slowly sat back down on the bed, pulling me onto his lap again. We resumed our previous position. From someone who wouldn't even hold my hand earlier, despite my best attempts to brush against his, Eric had certainly got his groove back. After another ten minutes, he broke our kiss and leaned away, eyeing the buttons on my dress, before looking into my eyes.

"May I?" I nodded and he began to undo the line of buttons on my dress, starting at the top and stopping at my stomach. He reached in, wrapping his large hands around my waist and appreciatively eyeing my pale pink lace bra. Because I thought (and hoped) that there might be the slightest chance someone would see my underwear today, I had planned ahead and picked out a pretty set.

"They are even more incredible than I remembered them being in the onsen last week." He moved his hands up, cupping the underside of each of them, as we continued assaulting each other's mouths. I pulled back for a moment, unbuttoning his shirt, and sliding it off his shoulders. Because my knees were killing me (we had far passed my forty minute make-out record with Quinn from ninth grade) I lowered myself onto his lap, coming in very close contact with his very large erection. I gasped, as it pressed against me, separated by two very flimsy layers of clothing on my end, and at least one layer of heavy denim on his. He groaned as I made contact, and moved to unbutton the rest of my dress, pushing it off of my shoulders once he was done, leaving me in my bra and underwear. For a moment, I was embarrassed, but then I remembered that he'd already seen me in a bikini that covered much less than I was wearing now.

My thoughts of embarrassment quickly went out the window when he slid his hands up my bra and rubbed my nipples with his thumbs. I whimpered at his touch and stifled a breath as he methodically rubbed back and forth, never breaking contact with my mouth. Never had anyone gotten as much reaction out of my breasts as Eric. It was like an invisible line was connecting them to a much more sensitive part of my body. My two previous sexual partners, one of who was Bill, had quickly bypassed them in favour of more immediate gratification. Eric's slow and steady method was getting most intense results.

"Tell me what you like." Eric murmured in my ear.

"I like that." I said, almost in a whisper. He increased his pace, moving his thumbs faster, then sliding his mouth down and taking my nipple in it. He dragged his teeth over it, and I cried out, arching my back and pushing it further into his mouth. I whimpered a little more, my breathing hitched.

"You do like that." Eric winked at me and pulled me on top of him, laying us down on the bed. He rolled us both onto our sides, pulling me close to him. "You smell so good." He moaned into my neck and unhooked my bra, tossing it to the side of the bed.

I moved my hand to undo his zipper. "I think you are over dressed for this party." I pulled them off his hips, leaving him in a very European pair of bright red briefs. Briefs that were beyond filled to capacity. "Those are, interesting." I winked at him, trying to keep a shocked look off my face.

"Glad you approve. I must warn you Lover, if you plan to take this any further, that, well..." Well what? You are the most well endowed person I've ever seen? I'm upgrading from a breakfast sausage to a foot-long? You are armed with a gracious plenty and you know how to use it? I'm in big trouble? What?!

"...I don't have any condoms. I wasn't exactly planning to meet someone as, well quickly and they aren't something I normally pack, with my being engaged until last week and all. You just removed my pants and I wanted you to know, you know, if that's where this is headed, which is very much where I'd like it to be headed. I'm going to shut up now."

Oh. I almost laughed. Even though Eric's cock took cocky to a whole new level, at least he wasn't going to brag about it. "I guess we could go to the AM/PM and get some, if, well, that is the direction you would like to take this." After kissing for two hours and having my breasts ravaged, if I didn't get some sort of release, I was going to have to go home and use that Hello Kitty vibrator that Amelia had bought me as a joke.

"Or, I could call room service." He raised an eyebrow. "We are in Japan, land of all things kinky after all." He had a point. If we were staying at a love hotel, we would have had a whole range of kink at our disposal, for under 2000 yen.

"That's just crazy enough to work." I smiled broadly at him. I wasn't usually the type to jump into bed with, well anyone. I'd never had a one night stand, never had sex outside of a relationship, nothing. I guess this wouldn't qualify as a one night stand, since we'd known each other for around a week and had been out for dinner three times. Third date didn't make you easy, did it? I felt like I'd known him for far longer than that. We'd get the condoms, this would be perfectly safe. I had been on the pill for years. I ached at the thought of him inside me. This was going to happen.

Eric sat up and grabbed the phone beside the bed, hitting the room service button. "Hello, I was, well, wondering if you could send up some condoms. Arigato." He turned to look at me. "He said they would be up in 5 minutes." He looked relieved.

"Well, since we are being honest here, I am on the pill, and have been for many years." He lay back down beside me, brushing some hair out of my face, and looked a little sheepish.

"I kind of assumed you were. Since we are being honest, I went for an STD test, after I found out Pam was sleeping around and didn't get the results before I left. I'm sure its fine, but I am quite cautious about these things and the last thing I would want to do would be to leave you with an unpleasant reminder of our first time together."

"Well that's very considerate of you." And then it dawned on me. I should have done the same thing. Bill and I hadn't used condoms for well over a year. We'd both gone for testing after I found him with Lorena, but why hadn't I gone this time? I guess I hadn't planned on meeting anyone either, or entertaining the idea that anyone could be so stupid to cheat and not use protection, but events of late had proven that Bill wasn't exactly swimming at the top of the gene pool. "In the continued spirit of honesty, I hadn't even thought of going for a test, but its suddenly moved to the top of my to-do list."

Eric smirked at me. "Many years ago, Pam came down with a wicked case of Chlamydia while we were on a break. I always counted myself very lucky having dodged that bullet. Its not something most people think of, unless they are directly confronted with it at one time or another."

There was a knock at the door, and a very meek bellboy handed Eric a silver tray with a lid. He gave a little bow, which looked ridiculous in his red briefs and closed the door. He opened the tray and displayed a six-pack of condoms, before tossing them on the nightstand. I pulled him down, on top of me, and kissed him with as much aggression as I could muster. He leaned into me, and began grinding his hips into mine, hitting me in all the right places. After a couple moan-filled moments, he rolled off me, and slid off my underwear. I grabbed the box of condoms, took one out, and started to slide his underwear off. When I had them to his knees, he helped me out and kicked them off. I carefully tore open the condom package and began to slide it onto his very large, eagerly waiting, member.

I had just pulled it down about two inches, when it snapped. I quickly reached for another one, only to be met with the same disappointing response. "Maybe you should try. I don't have a lot of experience with this."

"I don't either, but let me give it a shot." He opened a package and began sliding one on, only to be met with a similar snap.

After one more failed attempt, I finally caught on to what was happening and starting laughing. There was no way that two twenty-somethings could be this bad at putting on condoms.

"What?" Eric looked at me, confused and slightly disappointed.

"They are too small." I picked up the box. "This says small in kanji."

Eric threw the box across the room and started laughing. "Between Bill's call and this, I think the universe is cock-blocking the hell out of this evening."

We laid there, on our backs, completely in the buff, for a few moments. One of us had to make some sort of move, or we were both going to combust from the tension in our loins. I looked over at Eric, and eyed his muscular abs, down to his perfect v-shaped hipbones, and further, to his, sadly waning erection. I had always been a take charge kind of gal, and it's not exactly like pleasuring this gorgeous man would be any sort of hardship, especially since I felt he was probably far from selfish in the bedroom. This was an investment, I told myself, an investment in future orgasms.

I rolled onto my side, lazily traced down his stomach and gently grasped him, taking a moment to rub my thumb over the head for some lubrication. I ran my hand, up and down, all the while, watching his face. He looked at me, smirked as I attempted to wrap my hand around him, and closed his eyes, as I started moving a bit faster, keeping pace with the movement I was encouraging in his hips. Every once and a while, his face would tense up a bit, and then relax, and after ten minutes or so, I could tell he was getting very close. I reached my other hand down, and gently traced his sac, which completely threw him over the edge. His O-face was a sight to behold, as he unloaded onto his stomach, letting out a huge moan.

Being the polite southern girl that I was, I carefully got up and grabbed him some tissues from the box in the bathroom.

"Thanks. While this isn't exactly how I saw this evening going, its all worked out pretty well. Now, Ms. Stackhouse, if you could just lay on your back, I believe its time for me to return the favour." He waggled his eyebrows, as I happily complied. He cleaned up, and turned onto his side, rubbing one hand over my breasts, back and forth. I moaned a little, as he drew his other hand lazily down my stomach, stopping briefly at my navel, before continuing further down. He pinched my nipple, as he rubbed his thumb where I had desperately been craving his touch for about two hours. He kept his thumb in place, despite my squirming, and slowly inserted two fingers. I let out a sharp moan, as he moved them deeper and deeper inside of me, and began curling them slightly.

"Oh, that's amazing, please don't stop." I whispered/squeaked out.

"Don't worry Lover, I have no intention to stop until you are completely and utterly spent." He murmured into my hair, as he moved his face down and sucked hard on my nipple.

Eric was amazing. After my first orgasm, he held me in place, relentlessly, until I had seconds. When I was spent enough for his liking, he removed his fingers and wrapped his arms around me.

"That was lovely." He pulled me into him, kissing my mouth as pulled a blanket over us, as the nights were still a bit cool.

***

Eric

As I laid there, my arms wrapped around Sookie's incredibly curvy body, I thanked the gods for this interesting turn of events. It was completely by chance that we met, but I couldn't imagine if we hadn't. I would have been moping around some sterile hotel room, ordering room services and watching badly dubbed movies, while mourning the loss of a relationship that had lasted for most of my adult life. Instead, I had just had a lovely dinner followed by a mind-blowing orgasm, after the longest make-out session I could ever remember having.

We laid there for about ten minutes. "Sookie?"

"Yea?"

"I don't know how I'm going to go back to Norway." And I didn't. I felt like I was beginning a very meaningful journey with the wonderful creature wrapped around me, and within two days, I was going to be ripped away from her, and forced to deal with the tabloid fodder that was my life.

"When are you back again?" She looked up at me, her eyes smiling.

"I have a couple of important meetings in Oslo, then I have to fly to Korea for a couple of days, then I could be back, so at earliest, three weeks." Three weeks?!

"I'm sure it will fly by. I have some vacation time coming up, or I could swap some shifts,so , I could come see you in Tokyo." I loved that she was already trying to put a positive spin on things. "We can email, and talk on the phone a bit."

I thought back to Pam's advice about just going with things. "I have a really good international rate on my cellphone, so I can call you. I know it would be expensive for you to call."

I felt a bit guilty for a minute, because it never bothered me, being away from Pam so much. We hardly talked on the phone when I was away, and now here I was, with a girl I'd known for a week and I didn't even want let her go to the bathroom without me. I really did have to go though, to the bathroom, so I guess this would be a baby step. I got up, pulled my briefs back on and went to the washroom.

When I came back, Sookie had sat up and was on her phone.

"Amelia, I'll be right there, give me ten minutes." She hung up and looked at me, quite panicked.

"Bill let himself into our apartment. He returned the key, but he must have made a copy. I have to go and make sure Amelia is ok." She looked around, flustered for her undergarments. I helped her find them, and then tossed her her dress. I quickly found my clothes and pulled them on, following her out the door.

"I'm not sure its a good idea if you come. Its going to aggravate him."

"Well he's going to have to be aggravated then." She smiled up at me, as I grabbed her hand. We hailed a cab and arrived at a ten-storey apartment complex a few minutes later. We took the elevator to the fourth floor and Sookie let herself into the first apartment out of the elevator. We were met by a very frazzled Amelia, wearing a very fuzzy housecoat.

"I managed to get him into the bathroom." She was out of breath. "He wouldn't leave, he was all demanding I tell him where you were, and I didn't even know where you were to tell him, so he was really barking up the wrong tree."

Sookie grabbed her in a huge bearhug and started laughing as she saw the way Amelia had locked him in the bathroom. She had propped the heavy metal garbage can under the door handle.

"Girl, you are inventive. How did you get him in there?"

"Well, let's just say he's going to need to see a doctor." I noticed a giant wok near the bathroom door.

"Amelia, did you hit him, with this?" I picked it up. She nodded, a look of horror and satisfaction draw across her face.

Sookie pulled the garbage can out from under the bathroom door and we both looked in awe at Bill,who was huddled in the corner with a very black eye and then back to the petite brunette holding the frying pan. Amelia had done a real number on him. I stood a bit defensively behind her, but it turned out she didn't need my help after all.

"Bill, I think its time you left. I can't believe you would come over here and threaten Amelia. You are even stupider than I thought." Sookie had her hands on her hips and was really giving it to him. I made a mental note never to get on the wrong side of that. "I'm contacting your school and getting your ass deported. They won't want you around kids, pulling this shit. Do you realize how crazy you look?"

"Sookie, I just wanted to make sure you were safe. When you didn't answer your phone, I thought he had taken you. "

Sookie snorted. "Bill, he did take me, twice if you must know. Do you not think someone would have contacted you if I was taken? I'd think, after our last run in, remember, when you embarrassed me in front of half of Osaka, you'd probably be a person of interest. And do you really think if someone had taken me, that they'd answer my cellphone like that?" Damn, she was sharp. "You need to leave."

"But Sookie, if you'd just hear me out."

"Go ahead Bill, I'll gladly hear you out." Hands remained on hips. This ought to be good.

"Well, Sookie, as I explained, you misunderstood what you saw. I was just demonstrating..."

She cut him off. "I can't even believe you would say that in front of other people. Do you honestly think that they would take your side? A penis measuring contest? I don't know how to make this any easier to understand. I. DON'T. WANT. YOU. I don't want you in my apartment right now. I don't want you in my life. I don't want you calling my phone. Leave now, and leave your key. Amelia, we are getting the locks changed tomorrow."

Bill got up, dropped the key in her hand and skulked to the door. "Sookie, I love you."

"Bill, you know what I love? I love that I have to go and get an STD test, because you couldn't keep your tiny dick in your pants." She slammed the door. Amelia was all up behind her, hand raised for a hi-five. Sookie obliged her. "He's such an ass. Honestly, what was I thinking? Amelia, I'm so sorry he interfered with your evening."

"Honestly Sook, I loved kicking that douchebag's ass." She took the frying pan from my hands. "If he comes back, I'll be ready. She hit the bottom of it, making a large clanging noise.

"Eric, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"You were magnificent." And she was. She had really put that asshole in his place. It was a bit of a contrast to the scene I'd witnessed in the park. I had to admit, I was a little bit turned on by aggressive Sookie, as long as it wasn't aimed at me.

I stood in her tiny kitchen, as she pulled Amelia into what I guessed was her bedroom. A few minutes later she emerged, looking at bit smug. I looked at her questioningly, and she winked at me.

"Amelia, I'll be back in the morning. Call again if you need anything. I don't think he would dare come back tonight."

"Thanks Sook, see you in the morning. And Eric?"

"Yea?"

"You're welcome." She shut the door.

I looked at Sookie. "What was that about?"

She reached for my hand. "Oh, nothing. Amelia's just silly. Sorry, I didn't even ask, do you mind if I stay with you? I didn't want to pass up the chance to sleep in a real bed again for the second time in six months, especially since I'm sober enough to enjoy it this time." She giggled.

Mind? I whatever the opposite of minded was. "I'd love it if you stayed." I kissed the top of her forehead and we walked back to the hotel, hand in hand.

We undressed and got back under the covers, returning to our earlier cuddling position. I checked the time on my phone.

"It's only 11:30? This has been a really long day." That sounded bad. "I feel like I've been here with you for days." A little better.

She grabbed me and pulled me into her. "Oh, you are tired of me already are you? I guess then, you won't be interested in what I picked up from Amelia." She rolled over, leaving me spooning her fantastic backside. I felt my dick twitch a little as we made contact.

"Now what would that be?" I pulled her back over to face me and she looked at me, mischief in her eyes.

"Go check my dress pocket." I eyed her, quite curious as to what she would have got from Amelia. I hopped up, felt around for a minute, and pulled out a strip of 6 condoms.

"Ah, that explains why you were looking so smug." I sighed an exaggerated sign.

"Why, what's wrong?" She rolled over onto her stomach and looked concerned.

"What happens if we end up in the same mess we did earlier? I don't think I can get my hopes up again." I tried my best to look inconsolable.

"Well, Mr. Northman, I am pretty sure you can get something else up again." She nodded at my underwear, which were already a bit bunchy from the spoon action earlier. "And, I don't think we will have any problem with these ones. Amelia brought them from home. She has a huge bulk package that she brought with her. She said she had to leave shoes behind to bring them, so we better be grateful."

"Well, in that case..." I tossed them on the bedside table and hopped back in bed, pulling her on top of me. I reached behind, undid her bra and ran my hands over her perfect breasts. I felt her shiver at my touch. She reached onto the bedside table and tore a condom off the strip.

"I thought six were overkill, but Amelia insisted we be prepared. She may be living vicariously through us, just a little." She pushed herself down to my knees and slid my underwear off. A couple of quick strokes and I was ready to go. Hell, I was ready to go when she started yelling at Bill twenty minutes ago.

She unwrapped the condom and very gently slid it on. "Success!" She exclaimed as she finished unrolling it. I laughed, until she moved up my body and stopped me with a kiss. She pulled me over on top of her, wrapped a leg around me and guided me into her, very slowly. She was so wet, but so tight. I felt her wince as I inched my way in.

"I don't want to hurt you." I whispered into her hair.

"You aren't. I'm fine." She whispered back. I eased in a little further and she let out a moan.

"Are you ok?" I brushed the hair out of her face, and kissed her.

"Better than ok." She smiled up at me, as I pulled out, and thrust back in, a little quicker this time.

After a couple of thrusts, she began arching her back to meet me. "Fuck, you are so warm." I almost said tight, but thought it might come off a bit pornish. I moaned into her mouth, as I pulled the blankets off of us. I thought, for a brief moment, that I would turn into super stamina Eric with a condom on, since I hadn't worn one in years, but after about twenty minutes, I knew I was pretty much done for. Even with our mutual releases earlier, there had been too much buildup, too much sexual tension, and she was far too tight. I looked down at her, her eyes clenched tight in what I hoped was pleasure, as she let out the most adorable whimpers. I felt the tension building in my stomach, and she increased her speed, as she felt my approach building. I came, and cried out 'fuck' in Norwegian, as I felt my orgasm vibrate through her. I felt her arch her back even further into me, as I felt her pulse around me. We lay there, still joined for a moment, and then I rolled to the side.

"I'll be right back."I pulled the very full condom off and went to dispose of it. As I entered the bathroom and threw it in the trash, I got a brief look at myself in the mirror. I grinned, as I felt more like myself than I had in years. The haircut made a huge difference. I had cut it right before I went for the STD test in Oslo. I always hated it long, too much fuss, but Pam had insisted it was the right length for me, and I never cared about my hair enough to argue. I walked out, to find Sookie buttoning up my long dress shirt from earlier. She looked delicious, her hair tousled and her cheeks flushed. She hopped back into bed, and I crawled in to join her, moving my arm behind her.

"I never thought we were going to make that happen...it was a bit like mission impossible, but totally worth all the hassle." I kissed her forehead.

"Agreed." She nuzzled into me. "I really needed that, especially after earlier, with all the kissing and everything, not that you weren't great earlier, but that was fucking incredible."

"You, Sookie Stackhouse, are fucking incredible. I don't know how I lucked into such a wonderful twist of fate when I took my lunch to Osaka Castle that day, but I'm sure not questioning it." And I certainly wasn't, my heart ached a bit at the idea of leaving her in two days.

"You know, even if you hadn't decided to come find me at my hotel, I would have still been so grateful to you. You were really a turning point in my life, simply by stepping in."

"What do you mean?"

"Bill had really worn me down. Two years with him had done a number on my self esteem. He was never outwardly insulting, but he would make snide remarks about my figure and my intelligence, and how I was lucky to have him. I don't know how I lost myself the way I did, for moments, I actually believed him. And then I lost my Gran, and I didn't have anyone else. He pulled me away from my friends, because none of them liked the way he treated me, so they stopped coming around, because I'd foolishly defend his actions. We came here, and for the first time in a long time, I had a bit of independence at my school. I shouldn't have waited until I walked in on what I did to break up with him, but if it was all a part of meeting you, then I'm glad I did."

I knew she had been weary, I had seen it on her face at the castle. When I thought about it, it was probably what prompted me to get involved. "I guess I could say the same thing. I really don't know how we are going to work, but I'm very excited to give it a shot. I feel more like myself with you than I have in years."

She kissed me. "Ditto."

We nuzzled into each other and went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Folks! Thanks for all the great reviews, I'm glad you are enjoying the story! They have been super encouraging. Keep it coming, and I hope no one is mad at me for throwing this kink in the story!**

Sookie

The next two days went by far too fast. We had a wonderful day in Nara, taking loads of pictures of both of us in front of the world's largest Buddha, the world's oldest wooden buildings, and with the world's most aggressive mini deer. We came back to the hotel and ordered a very elaborate arrangement of sushi and sashimi for dinner, and for dessert, we had each other. Three times.

Eric's well, size, had taken a bit of getting used to, but I had, and I really didn't know how I'd ever find anyone that measured up to all that Eric was. I had always subscribed to the size doesn't matter, its what you do with it philosophy, but but one night with Eric, who had the size and knew what to do with it had completely changed my way of thinking.

The next day, we walked around all day, looking in little shops, checking out the sights we had both seen a million times. We had dinner at Wendy's of all places, which was my favourite little western indulgence, and spent the evening watching the Japanese version of The Ring with Amelia. We spent another amazing night in his hotel room, and by the last night, I had to go back to my apartment on another condom run. The hours of talking, combined with the hours of sex, really made it feel like I'd known him forever. I felt a level of comfort when he was around that I hadn't felt since Gran had died.

When Sunday morning came, and he had to go, I walked him to the train, and held his hand like I never wanted to let go. I had to go back to work, and he had a flight out of Tokyo that evening though, so it had to happen. We stood there, on the platform, like two actors in an old movie.

"I'll email you when I land, since it will be really, really early here. God, I'm going to miss you far more than someone I've known for two weeks." He pulled me close to him.

"Three weeks will fly by. I'm sure you will be super busy with work, and before you know it, you'll be back."

"Work, and sorting out the mess that is my life I guess. I'll call you when I get back to my house, so at about 9am your time."

I pulled a tattered piece of paper out of my pocket. "I think you should have half of these." They were the stickers you make in photobooths. We had done them yesterday and they were absolutely ridiculous and cheesy. I ripped off the top half and handed them to him.

He laughed his fantastic laugh and tucked them in his bag and gave me a half smile. His train pulled in, and he pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around his neck and we kissed the sweetest kiss of my existence. "Farewell Lover, I'll see you soon." He pulled our hands apart and got on the train.

I gave him a little wave, as he sat down by the window. He waved back, as the train left the station.

I meandered my way back to my apartment and was surprised and thrilled when Amelia had breakfast waiting. A big, American breakfast, with eggs and bacon, and hash browns, and toast. In Bill's frying pan.

"So he's gone huh. We will keep super busy over the next few weeks."

I gave her a huge hug. "How did I get so lucky with you. First you beat up my awful ex with that frying pan and now you make me a perfect breakfast with it when I need it most."

"I am a girl of many talents Sookie Stackhouse, many talents." She winked at me as she cooked up some eggs in the same frying pan she had hit Bill with. I really loved her.

On Monday, I called the head office of the company that Bill and I worked with and made an appointment to speak with the area manager. He was appalled at Bill's behaviour and called him to fire him with me still in his office. It turns out he was most upset about him sleeping with staff from his school, and his break-in in our apartment. He called it a breach of trust on the phone with him, and told him he had a week to be out of the country or he would call the authorities about breaking into our apartment. The Japanese take crimes committed by foreigners very seriously, so leaving the country was probably a much safer bet than taking his chances with the legal system. Working in Japan was a privilege, and not a right, as as Mr. Iwasaki so calmly reminded Bill on the phone. It felt damn good to take control of my life again.

I also booked an STD test with an English speaking doctor that one of the teachers at my school recommended. I managed to get in on Tuesday and was given a clean bill of health the following Monday. Amelia and I went out for drinks to celebrate my clean bill of health and the exit of Bill Compton from my life forever.

As promised, Eric emailed as soon as he landed and called me when he reached his house. It was almost May and they had just gotten a bit of snow. He emailed me all the great pictures from our time together a couple of days later, and we had some sort of correspondence almost every day, sometimes more than once a day. He would tell me about his business dealings and I would tell him about the adorable things my students did. He had been back about a week when he mentioned he was having Pam over for coffee to divide up some of their shared possessions the next day. He sounded a bit down about it, but promised to call that evening to let me know how it all went. I wasn't concerned. I knew that they were done as done could be. Even if we didn't work out, there was no way he and Pam were reconciling. If anything was an irreconcilable difference, it was your fiancee coming to terms with being a lesbian.

***

Eric

Coming back wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been. Sure, I had to put up with my Mom's coddling and asking if I was ok every five minutes, and my Dad's I hope this doesn't make you feel like less of a man speech when I told them why we ended things, but I was coping. I had a few really positive business meetings and managed to close a deal that would have me back in Japan more frequently, which thrilled me to no end. It was a bit hard coming back to my house, without Pam there, since she had always greeted me, usually wearing nothing but a smile when I got back from business. It wasn't really that I missed though, it was having someone to talk to while I made coffee or read the paper.

I had kept true to my word and kept in pretty constant communication with Sookie. We went back and forth every day via email or phone, or sometimes both. I had printed off a couple of pictures of her and I and stuck them in the frame of the hall mirror, so every time I came or went, I got to see her beautiful smiling face. She was right, the time was going by quite quickly. When I'd been back for about a week, Pam called and we set up a time for her to come over. When she'd moved out, she'd just taken the bare essentials, but a lot of the things we had accumulated since moving in together were ours, so I wanted her to take some of them. She sounded a bit weird on the phone, but we made arrangements for her to come over for lunch. I made simple turkey sandwiches and bought some beer.

She arrived at exactly 12 noon. Pam was the queen of punctuality. She was dressed in a nordic tunic sweater, which made me laugh, remembering Amelia's comment, and black leggings. She looked extremely tired, which made me feel good. Maybe I was actually coping better than she was.

"Eric." She hugged me at the door, and immediately noticed the pictures of Sookie and I. "So that's the teacher. She looks sweet." I had thought so at first, until I saw her take a strip off of Bill.

"Yea, that's Sookie. I'm seeing her when I go back in a couple of weeks. She's pretty great."

"Good, you deserve to be happy, you really do." She smiled at me, a bit weakly, as she sat down at the table we had spent so many mornings at. "Look Eric, I wanted nothing more than to come here and have you tell me all about your time away, and the wonderful girl you met, but somethings happened."

I looked at her, very confused. "What do you mean? You're still interested in girls?" I said, trying to bring some humour to her very serious expression. She wasn't cracking. I had gotten my STD test results back, and I was clean, so it couldn't have been that. What else could have it been?

"Did you tell your parents? How did they take it?"

"Badly, but its not that. Eric, I really don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to come out with it. I'm pregnant."

I immediately got up, walked to the bathroom off of the kitchen and threw up. At least three times. Pam came in and sat on the bathtub. "I think I'm the one who is supposed to be throwing up. Eric, I'm sorry, but its without a doubt yours. You are the only guy I've been with, well, ever. We have some decisions to make." Pam had never been with any other guys? Even when we'd broken up? Looking back, I guess that all played into her secret life of socialite fucking. Pregnant? Shit.

"Fuck Pam, are you sure?" I grabbed a tissue and cleaned my mouth.

"Do you think I would be here telling you if I wasn't? Eric, I feel terrible about this. You deserved a clean break, and here I am telling you this."

"How does Mara feel about this?" That came out snarkier than I meant it to. I had a painful image of the two of them raising my child together, without my involvement. Eric Northman was no sperm donor. I still felt like I was going to throw up.

"Eric, Mara and I are not together. She merely met a need I had. I wouldn't have got into a relationship while we were still together. Despite what you probably think of me, I did value our relationship. Besides, its not like she's going to leave her husband. She doesn't have the balls."

I leaned up against the bathroom vanity, sitting on the floor. "What are we going to do Pam? I'm sure you know, this is not an ideal situation, for either of us."

"We need to decide. And soon." She slumped down beside me. "Eric, it could be worse. You are still my best friend. We've known each other forever. If we decide..." I knew she'd already decided. If she had decided to have an abortion, she would have spared me even telling me and already probably had it.

"Pam, I would never want you to not have our baby because you thought it would be better for me. Its your choice, but I'm here for you, whatever you decide. If you want to have it, then I want to have it."

I looked over at her, and a tear was running down her cheek. I wiped it away. I sighed. "Pam, we will get through this. What was your first thought when you found out?" Fuck, this would have been much easier if I just hadn't come home early that day. Everything would be as it had always been, and we'd be excited about our future together. Well, I guess I would have been anyway. Pam would have still been in denial and running around on me behind my back. In a way, I was very relieved that Pam was gay and hadn't been running around on me with other men. That would make this even more of a mess, if that was even possible.

"I was happy. If I was ever going to have anyone's baby, it would be yours. I never thought I wanted to have kids." Well that would have been a good conversation to have before we got engaged. I had always wanted kids.

"Well then, we will do this. Apart, but together." I wrapped an arm around her. "Have you been staying with your parents?"

She nodded. That was no good. I was sure they were making her miserable. They came from old money and had a lot of expectations for Pam, none of which involved her having an interest in women.

"We will find you a place tomorrow. Somewhere close."

She wiped her face and wrapped her arms around me. I fought an instinctual urge to kiss her, to feel her warm skin on me, but I knew it would be completely counter-productive. I could feel a change in us and I knew everything would be ok. "Eric, I'm really lucky to have you in my life. God knows I don't deserve you, but I'm glad you are here."

"Pam, we've had each other's back since we were little kids. Just because our relationship had changed, doesn't mean we don't still have one. You're my best friend, and I am partly to blame for this situation." I winked at her.

"Yea, I guess you are." She raised an eyebrow at me. "You know, I should get going so you can call your teacher. Its what, eight hours ahead there?"

"Yea, any advice on how you tell the girl you've been seeing for three weeks that your ex-fiancee is pregnant with your baby?"How the fuck was I going to tell Sookie, who I'd only been seeing for a few weeks that my ex-fiancee was having our child? Was that the kind of thing you told someone in person?

She thought about it for a minute. "I think you should just tell her. And buy her something nice the next time you see her." Pam hoisted herself up off the floor.

"Pam, when are we having this baby?"

"I'm due in December. Probably late December." So she was about two months along. I'd been around for a couple of weeks around then and picked out a particularly fond memory of the two of us on the couch.

"The time on the couch?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"I'll see you tomorrow. Pick out some listings tonight and make the appointments. I'm all yours to look at places." She smiled at me and left me, in the bathroom with my thoughts. How I'd just managed to pull it together for Pam was beyond me. I felt this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. My life as I knew it was over, just as it had been over three weeks ago when I'd found Pam in her compromising position. I wasn't ready to be a father, to be a parent with someone who I was irreconcilably separated from. I didn't even like Pam at the moment. I loved her yes, a part of me always would, but I really wasn't over her betrayal yet. Everything in my house reminded me of her, reminded me of the time we'd spent together, laughing together, her telling me that she loved me. I didn't doubt that Pam loved me, in one way or another, but why the hell had she agreed to marry me, knowing that she was never going to be happy with me? Why had she continued her charade, at my expense? I guess none of that really mattered now. We were where we were, and there was no going back, only moving forward, as impossibly hard as it was going to be. I got up from the floor and threw every picture, every memory I could find of our life together and threw it in a box. Too bad I wasn't going to be able to compartmentalize our relationship like that.

Eventually I moved me and my thoughts to the couch (yes that couch), where we spent a good hour together. I didn't want to wait two weeks to tell Sookie about this. It would feel like I was lying to her every time we talked on the phone. If she wanted to end it, I just wanted it done. I was going to be a Dad, and if she wanted to see where we were going to go, she deserved to do it with that knowledge. I'd understand if she didn't. It was a lot to take in, especially when you combined it with the fact that we'd spent a total of about five days together in the three weeks we'd know each other. But there was no way I'd leave Pam high and dry, no matter how angry I was with her for everything else.

I reached for my phone, but instead went to my laptop and called her on skype. Hopefully she was sitting by her computer. We'd planned to have a video conversation sometime this week, and this seemed like a conversation that was better had face to face.

After a few skype rings, she answered.

"Hi, it's me, turn your camera on." She flicked it on, and there she was, looking as beautiful and happy as when I'd left a bit over a week ago.

"Hey, its good to see you." There was that gorgeous smile. I was a bit afraid what was going to happen to it.

"You too. You look as beautiful as ever." She blushed through the screen. "So, I don't really know how to say this." I sighed as she looked a bit confused.

"What is it? Is everything ok?"

"Kind of. Look, I'm just going to come out and say this. Pam is pregnant. I know that's a lot to take in, believe me, I know."

The pink blush left her face and she went a bit pale. The smile vanished."Oh. Its yours I'm assuming?"

"Yes. And we have decided to have it."

Her voice grew a bit shaky. "Together?"

"We aren't getting back together. As you know, that ship has long sailed, but we will raise the baby together. I'm going to help her find a place in my neighbourhood. I wanted to tell you right away, before we got too involved. I know its a lot to deal with, and I'll completely respect your feelings on the subject."

She sighed. "You are doing the right thing. Can you give me a couple of hours and I'll call you back? I need a bit of time to think."

My heart hurt a little. I know we hadn't been together very long, but I really wanted to see where we were going. I felt things with her that I didn't even know were possible. "I understand. Just skype me when you are ready to talk. I'll be home."

"Ok, I'll call you back." She hung up.

I stalked around my apartment, waiting for that annoying ding.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all the love! I hope you like this lemony chapter just as much! Keep the reviews coming...I'm not saying they make me post faster, but they don't hurt!**

Sookie

Boy, this was just my luck. I meet this fantastic guy, things are going so well, and then his ex-fiancee finds out she's having his baby. Amelia was out, unfortunately, so I was left to stalk around our apartment, growling and sighing to myself.

I didn't want to, scratch that, couldn't be responsible for keeping a family apart, which was what they were, a mom, a dad, and a soon to be baby. If I thought there was a chance they were able to make it work, then I was done. I'd happily bow out, no matter what my ever growing feelings for Eric were. Maybe Pam would be willing to put aside her feelings for the sake of their family, but I doubted that would be good for anyone. But, if they were done for good, then I'd be a fool not to want to see what the potential for he and I was. I really liked him, and looking at the wallpaper on my laptop, a picture Amelia had taken of he and I looking at each other on my couch a week ago, I knew I didn't want to miss out on something that had felt so right.

I came up with, what may have been a bit of an odd solution. I skyped Eric.

"Hey, I'll call you back in a bit. Give me Pam's number. I want to talk to her."

Eric's face registered visible shock. "You want to talk to Pam? Why?"

"That will be between Pam and I. We will talk after I talk to her. Please, I need to do this."

He sighed and looked a bit annoyed."Fine, but please call me later. I must admit Sookie, this makes me a bit uncomfortable."

Me too, but I needed to talk to her. I really wasn't involving myself in this mess, unless I knew with total certainty that they were done, really, really done. I would never be able to live with myself, knowing I'd ruined an opportunity for them to be a real family.

"I'll call you as soon as I talk to her. I promise." Eric texted me the number and I disconnected skype.

After some deep breathing and a mini-pep talk to myself, I picked up my cell phone and calling card and dialed the foreign number. After a couple of minutes, a sleepy voice answered in Norwegian. Shit, I hadn't even asked Eric if she spoke English. Fuck, what the hell was I thinking?

"Is this Pam?"

"Ya, who is this?" Good, she did speak English. It was a littler bit more accented than Eric's but still very understandable.

"Its, um, Sookie, Sookie Stackhouse, I, uh, met Eric a few weeks ago." I was sweating. I really should have written out a script.

"The teacher, from Japan?" I registered confusion in her voice, and a lot of it.

"Yes. Hello. I know, its really weird for me to be calling you, but I didn't really know what else to do."

"What can I do for you? I'm assuming you have been talking to Eric." She sounded a little bit irritated. I didn't really blame her, but I needed an answer from her. I couldn't ask Eric, it had to come from her.

"Yea, I know this is a little strange. I don't know what Eric, well, what he told you, about he and I." I dabbed my forehead and tried to picture a smiling Pam, the smiling Pam from their engagement photo. I was pretty sure she probably wasn't smiling at all, and I got a little grumpy picturing the two of them together. This wasn't working well at all.

"He told me that he likes you. I didn't really ask for details."

He told her that? Well that was a good sign. "Look Pam, I'm going to cut to the chase here. I really like Eric, and I'd like to see what could happen with us in time, but I will gladly bow out if there's any chance of you two working things out. I can't and won't be responsible for breaking up a family. I know you two have a very long history, and I've only know him for," I sighed, "a few weeks." There, I had said what I needed to say. I waited for her response.

"Sookie Stackhouse, you are very brave, calling me up like this. I don't know how much Eric told you about our relationship, but I can assure you that he and I will not be getting back together. We have a long history yes, but I have a lot of regrets, most of them involving my lack of honesty with him. We are fundamentally different, or I guess the same. You and I are more likely to get together than he and I again." She laughed and I relaxed a bit. "Anyway, its very honourable, you trying to keep our little family together, but I can assure you, Eric and I will do quite well, parenting this baby as friends, and only friends. We have always been friends, no matter the state of our other relationships."

"So, you and I won't have any problems then?"

"No Sookie, if you make him happy, then we will be ok. I love Eric, and I know we can't and won't be happy, and being together wouldn't be good for either of us anymore."

"Thank you Pam, I appreciate you talking to me." I hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. I really hadn't thought that out very well. Calling her was impulsive to say the least, but it had worked out in my favour. I almost liked her. She was sharp.

I went back to my computer to see that Eric had dinged me about a half dozen times in my 10 minute conversation.

I took another deep breath, and skyped him back. He answered immediately.

"My answer is yes. I would still like to see you, if you would like to see me."

His eyes searched my face through the camera, as if to make sure I wasn't fucking with him. "Really? What did you talk to Pam about?"

I thought back to Pam's mention of being honest. If we were going to do this, we were going to have to be straight up. "I asked her if there was any chance of you getting back together and being a family. I had to know, and I had to hear it from her. I want to hear it from you too, but I needed to hear it from her. I can't break up your family Eric, I would never do that."

"As I'm sure Pam told you, we will not be reconciling, but we will be a family, just not a conventional one. We will do this parenting thing as friends. I very much want you in my life, probably much more than I should, after such a short time knowing each other."

One look at those wonderfully blue eyes and I was done for. "Well then you have me. I'm in." We smiled broadly at each other. "How many days?"

"Ten. Have you booked your ticket to Tokyo?"

"Yep, I got it a couple of days ago, and I managed to swap for an extra couple of days off, so I can stay for five. If you have meetings, I'll just walk around and check out the sights."

"I'm sure we can work something out. My schedule isn't too full on this trip. I might have a couple of evening schmoozing sessions, but you can come with me."

"I've never been arm candy before. You'll have to send me the dress code."

"You always look lovely. I don't think you need my help to impress Japanese businessmen."

We sat, looking at each other for a few minutes, in silence, longingly. Finally Eric spoke. "I should go. I need to tell my parents before some tabloid reporter calls for comment." I could tell part of him was joking, but part wasn't. Amelia had been checking google news for updates since he left, and their breakup really was all over the news. We both spent hours roaring at the awful google translations of the news stories.

"Ok, talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course. Goodnight Sookie."

I went to bed, as it was almost 2am. Amelia stumbled in about ten minutes after I went to bed, she'd been seeing some Aussie surfer with an incredible tan that had just arrived, Tray or something. I decided to wait until morning to tell her the most recent development, but instead it was her that came bursting in to my room, at about 10am.

"Sookie, did Eric tell you that Pam's pregnant? One of the newspapers did an online poll and only 35 percent of people think its his kid." I liked how Amelia referred to Pam like she knew her. The internet was truly an odd beast.

"He told me, and it is his kid." I groaned and buried my head in my pillow.

"What are you going to do?" She eyed me, a bit taken aback by the new development. Her and me both.

"We are going to see what happens. They aren't going to get back together, but its still their kid."

"Wow Sook, you could be a stepmom."

"Boy you really ran with that, didn't you. I called Pam Amelia, I called her and asked if I was breaking up their family. I think stepmom is a bit premature."

Amelia looked at me, completely taken aback."Were you drunk, or on some good drugs? How the hell did you grow the balls to do that?"

"Nope, completely sober. I have no idea, I just did it. It went ok. She said they are done done. I guess I'll see how things go when I see him in Tokyo in 9 days." I cheered inside, only 9 days! That sounded so much better than ten. And because I had swapped shifts for the extra days off, I'd be working each and every one of them. That incited a groan. "How's Tray?"

"Fucking amazing. Sookie, the man is a god." I had heard. Tray was the king of sex. Amelia hadn't stopped reminding me how much sex she was having, which in turn reminded me how much sex I wasn't having. I silently cursed her, but she deserved my ear, since she'd been hearing about Eric around the clock for the past week or two, or three. Nine more days, Stackhouse, nine more days.

***

Eric

The next week really did fly by. We found Pam a condo about a ten minute walk from my place, with two bedrooms and a den, with a great view of the river. It was new and very modern and I could already see Pam envisioning what she would do to the place. We signed the papers to purchase a few days later, with a closing date the next month. I went with her to a doctor's appointment and afterwards, we went to tell her parents together. The way I saw it, if I wasn't upset about it, then they certainly had no right to be. Pam's trust fund would pay for the condo, and we decided that we would work out our finances at a later date, when it came to the baby.

My Mom and Dad took the news quite well, although I could tell Mom was worried about me. I guess that's what moms do though, and I did my best to reassure them that I was ok with everything. I emailed Amelia and got Sookie's size and took my Mom shopping to buy her a few things. She had grumbled good-naturedly about the lack of clothing available in her size, with her amazing breasts and curvy physique, which wasn't exactly the norm in Japan. I had shown Mom a few pictures of us and it seemed to give her a bit of hope that I wasn't secretly breaking down inside. I tried to veer Mom away from the high end stores that she and Pam frequented, reminding Mom that we hadn't been seeing each other for very long, after which Mom told me some absurd story about a cousin of hers who met someone on the internet and got married six months later in Las Vegas. She had been very excited about Pam and I getting married, so I tried to humour her, promising I'd try to get Sookie for a visit soon, so she could meet her.

The best parts of my days were the moments I got to talk to Sookie. We'd switched our calling to strictly skype only. It helped being able to see her. We talked about such normal things, parts of our day, what we ate, funny things that Amelia did, my day to day dealings with my impending fatherhood, all of that. I was truly impressed that she was taking things as well as she was and was willing to look past such a giant obstacle and still see me. She forwarded me an apology email from the company she worked for, for their dealing with Bill. He had been sent back to the US about a week after I left, and she'd scared him off enough that he didn't come back before he left. She had had a few hangup calls from the states that she suspected was him, but she just didn't answer and no one ever left a message. He was going to have a hard time harassing her from across the Pacific, and if he insisted on causing problems with her, I had decided that I'd contact my lawyer and see what could be done. Before I knew it, it was time for me to leave again.

I left Oslo and flew to Seoul for a couple of days, on a connecting flight through London. The Korean market was a growing one for us, so I had a few new contacts to meet and schmooze with. I had already talked to my father about hiring a contact for Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China, so I could be home more once Pam had the baby and he agreed. I would continue to take care of Japan and Hong Kong, and attempt to grow our business there. I got an early morning flight out of Seoul and was in Tokyo by about 10am. It was much hotter than it had been even three weeks ago, as I remembered the last time I'd been in Japan over the summer. Sweltering didn't even begin to describe it. It was like standing behind the exhaust of a transport truck, all the time. I went and checked my bags at the Four Seasons, and went to meet Sookie at the train station. I stopped by a florist and picked up a much more modest bouquet than the one I had gotten her in Osaka. It, in normal Japanese fashion was stunning and very detailed. I knew her train got in around two, so I got some lunch, picked up a book, and went to sit and wait for her. I had a meeting later, but most of the things I booked were things she was welcome to accompany me to.

I sat on a bench, and saw her long before she saw me. Watching her without her seeing me was really something. She had a beautiful little smile on her face, as her eyes scanned the station for me, her hair was loose and a bit wavy, down around her shoulders. She was wearing a simple black strapless dress, with a yellow cardigan that made her skin glow. Yellow really was her colour. After about 30 seconds of taking her in and thanking the gods once again for my most fortunate twist of fate, I got up and walked over to meet her. Her face brightened even more, as she picked up her pace and walked towards me. We met and embraced, me literally sweeping her off her feet and holding on for dear life. Her smell, the way she felt in my arms, even in the middle of a train station, in a strange country, surrounded by people I would never talk to, I felt like I had come home. After what wasn't nearly long enough, I put her down, pulled her face to mine, and kissed her deeply. We kissed, eventually noticing that a small crowd had formed to watch the very tall blond man and the busty blond woman make out. We both blushed a little and pulled away, and actually got a bit of applause, which added to our embarrassment. I handed her the bouquet I'd left on the bench.

"Hi, you look beautiful. I got you these."

She smiled up at me. "You are a sight for sore eyes Eric Northman. I can't believe how much I missed you." She reached for my hand and we walked out into the day.

We walked for a bit, taking in some of the sights, before heading back to the hotel to check in, so she could lose her suitcase. We got the key, I picked up my bag and we headed up the my upgraded room.

"Another impressive room." She smiled broadly. "And with a bed. A very large bed."

"Stick with me Stackhouse, its beds off the floor all the way." I reached in my suitcase, pulling out two bags with the clothes that Mom had picked out for her. "These are from my Mom. I got your sizes from Amelia. I remembered you saying that you had a hard time finding clothes here, as a result of your lovely feminine attributes." I found myself staring at the way her boobs looked in her strapless dress. I really was a breast man.

"You mean my huge boobs." She laughed. "Its ok, I know they're huge. I get told every day. The word for boobs was one of the first ones I learned when I moved here. In the US, there are pretty average, but here, boy oh boy. I will have to get your Mom a thank you present, this is very kind of her." She started pulling things out. I hadn't really been paying attention to what Mom had picked out, but as she hauled out piece after piece, I saw that it was a lot. "Eric, this is too much. There are some really expensive labels in here."

"I told her to tone it down a bit, but she's a big shopper. Do you like the things she picked? I can take back anything you don't." My heart fell a bit already at the idea of going back.

"Its all beautiful. She has amazing taste. I guess I'll just have to buy her a really great thank you gift." She shrugged and smiled at me. "I feel like we haven't even been apart. I guess because we've talked so much. Tell me how you're really doing."She grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit beside her on the bed, looking me in the eyes.

"You know, every day it gets a bit easier. I know this isn't an ideal situation for anyone, but it is what it is. Our kid will be loved, maybe not in a conventional family, but he or she will be surrounded by loads of people who love him or her. This is far from what I planned, but then so is all of this, so I'm just going with it. One day at a time."

"How's Pam?" Pam had started getting frequent bouts of morning sickness right before I left. When I went to the doctor with her, he had given her some advice on natural remedies to help deal with it. "Still sick, but she'll be fine. She's a pretty tough girl."

"I would like to meet her sometime, you know, in the future." Sookie sat down on the bed and I sat beside her.

"I'm sure that can be arranged. My Mom is already dying to meet you. You are probably the only reason she hasn't tried to have me committed. She's convinced that under my calm demeanour, I'm on the edge of a nervous breakdown." I hadn't meant to drop the mom bomb so quickly, but with all the clothes, it was obvious that her and I had spent quite a bit of time talking about Sookie.

"I was thinking a bit about how that could work. I know you have to be here for business, so its natural that you would come see me, but I'd like to work it so I can come and see your world too. My school is closed in August, so if you'd have me, I could come for a bit then, if things are still going well." She said the last part quite quickly. I think we were both a bit terrified of making the other think we were too serious. I guess that was natural.

"How long would you have in off August?"I perked up at her wonderful suggestion.

"About three weeks. I wouldn't have to stay the whole time, if you, you know, had things to do." She blushed a bit. I'd be glad when we had a few more months under our belt, so we could both get over our fear of thinking we would come across as too eager to the other.

"I can certainly take a vacation in August." I had five weeks of vacation annually, so I could probably take most of the month off. I had an amazing vision of Sookie in my house, walking around the cool tile floor barefoot, in my shirt, eating breakfast that I'd make, laying out on my veranda in the afternoon sun.

"Well then we will plan it a bit more as it gets closer. Its the end of May now, so I guess I'll book in a month."

I remembered my good news. "I think we may have to look into buying a bullet train ticket bundle. So I closed a deal when I was home, to distribute bluefin here. Its very lucrative and it means, for the next little bit, I will be spending more time here and in Osaka. I have also convinced my father to hire someone to work a few of the other Asian countries, like Korea and Taiwan, so I can focus on growing business here, and in Hong Kong, so I should be around a little more than I thought. For the next few months, I should be here, two weeks on, two weeks off."

Sookie squealed and wrapped her arms around me. "That's fantastic! Two weeks goes by so quickly. Maybe we can alternate on my days off, I can come here, or you can come to Kyoto."

"I know you are busy Sookie, and my schedule is more flexible. I thought I'd come down and see you on most of your days off. That way, we get a couple of extra evenings in." I also didn't want her paying the fees for the train. They were really expensive and I could write them off as a business expense most of the time. I also enjoyed spending time at her place. Because I travelled so much, huge hotel suites actually got a bit old after a while.

"Well that certainly works too. Eric, I can't believe this is working out as well as it is."

"Well, if you are willing to overlook my impending fatherhood, with my lesbian ex-fiancee, then I guess you are right."

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it." She nodded her head with resolve, as she pulled me in for a kiss. "I can't believe you are actually here. Honestly, there were days after the last time I saw you that I had to convince myself that you weren't some elaborate fantasy that I had cooked up."

I pulled her in for another kiss. "Well, I have a not so elaborate fantasy that I cooked up." I raised an eyebrow at her, wrapped my arms around her, dragged us both onto the bed and pulled her on top of me.

"Sookie Stackhouse, making fantasies into realities since 1983." She pulled my t-shirt off, over my head, and I started fumbling with the zipper on her dress. Damn back zip dresses. After a few minutes of trying, she helped me out, by standing up and stepping out of it, leaving her in a very sexy black strapless bra and matching panties.

"Fuck, that visual should help me make it through the next two weeks." I growled at her, as she lowered herself back onto the bed.

"Glad you approve." She moved her hands to my pants, eyeing the button like it was a challenge, a much easier challenge than her dress had been. She had them unfastened and off in about 15 seconds flat.

"What? No lime green Euro undies?" She winked at me, taking in that I had gone commando.

"Twelve hours on a plane in a long time to be constricted." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well that's one less thing to take off then." She slid herself between my legs. "I thought of a most fabulous way to celebrate our dual clean bills of health." She winked at me, and I gasped, as she got right down to it, grabbing my instantly hard cock, running her hot tongue along the top and then taking as much as she could of me in her mouth.

I breathed raggedly. "Fuck, that's fucking amazing." Three weeks with no sex, after three days with nearly infinite sex had been pretty rough. She looked up at me and winked, which almost sent me over the edge. I closed my eyes and got some weak control over my cock again, but as soon as I opened my eyes a few minutes later, and saw her looking up at me, I was done."Fuck Sookie." I came hard, unloading into her hot little mouth.

When she was quite sure I was done, she got up, without a word and skipped into the bathroom. About 30 seconds later she emerged.

"Sorry, I don't swallow. Nothing personal." She shrugged her shoulders.

"If you are going to do that, like that, then I don't care what you do with it. You can spit it out the window at passersbys, whatever. Fuck, that was amazing." I pulled her back down beside me, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her deeply.

She pulled away after about 30 seconds. "Sorry, I'll go brush my teeth." She started to get up, but I pulled her back down.

"Why are you going to brush your teeth?"

"Bi, I mean, I thought that's what you were supposed to do. I've always done that, I don't know why I didn't think of it when I was in the bathroom."

"Well it doesn't bother me. I don't know why anyone would be so particular about anything involving the wonderful experience that is that. Get your sweet ass back down here." She shrugged and let me pull her back into me, kissing her extra hard, with renewed fervour. Fucking Bill and his bullshit. After a moment, she got back into it, and our tongues began to poke at each others, and I moved to undo her bra in the back. After struggling with the clasp for a moment, I finally released those amazing breasts from their very sexy prison.

"Your breasts are amazing." And they were. I took her nipple in my mouth and palmed the other one with my hand.

"Oh, I missed you." She arched her back, pushing her breasts even further in to my waiting hands and mouth.

"And I missed these, I mean, you of course." I winked at her.

"Less talk, more of that Northman." She winked back at me.

"Yes ma'am." I went back to work, and after a few minutes, slowly moved my free hand down her body, taking a minute to run my finger back and forth along the elastic of her lacy underwear. She whimpered at my touch. I moved my hand from her very firm breast and hooked a finger from each hand on her underwear, slowing pulling them down, and then throwing them across the room.

She giggled. "I thought you liked those."

"I like them better over there. And I like you better over here." I hopped off the bed and kneeled on the floor, and pulled her legs off the bed, throwing them over my shoulders. She shrieked and I slid my hands hands under her, squeezing her firm round ass, before lowering my face into her. She wrapped her legs around the back of my head, and started moaning and gasping, as I ran my tongue over her most sensitive parts. She was clenching her eyes shut, and I decided that wouldn't do. "Look at me Lover." She did, and within minutes I had her screaming my name. When I had decided that she was thoroughly satisfied, I lowered her legs and crawled back up beside her.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around my chest. "You really are a god, you know that?"

I laughed, almost said something, and then stopped myself, thinking of how rude it would be to talk about my experiences with someone else while I was lying here naked with this extraordinary creature.

"What were you going to say?"

"Nothing, nevermind. So, what do you want to do for dinner this evening? I have a meeting over drinks at 9pm in Shinjuku, but that means we have all afternoon to do whatever you want."

"No fair changing the subject. What were you going to say." She poked me in the arm.

"Its kind of inappropriate post-orgasm conversation."

"I'll tell you what I was thinking if you tell me what you were going to say."

She drove a hard bargain. I always wanted to know what she was thinking. Every minute of the day.

"Fine. But you have to promise not to be funny about it. I was going to say that years of Pam's drill sergeant approach to going down on her turned me into quite the perfectionist. It all kind of makes sense now. She was always all, do this, do that. I knew I was doing a good job when she wasn't barking orders at me."

She rolled over and started laughing uncontrollably. "Sorry, that's a priceless mental picture you just gave me there. I should be bothered by the thought, but its really funny. I was thinking that in the two years I was with Bill, that he went down on me twice, and it was on my birthday both times and it was the biggest fucking chore in the world for him, which, of course, made it totally awesome for me." She laughed some more.

Shit, that guy had some pretty weird habits. I really had no idea what she had saw in him at all. "I'll tell you what. I'll go down on you, whenever you want, more than willingly, if you promise to forget everything he ever told you about sex. Did he actually tell you to go brush your teeth after you blew him?"

"From day one. He refused to kiss me otherwise, and I refused to have sex with him without kissing him, so, of course, I was the one who compromised." She shook her head.

"Well you don't have to compromise anymore. No one should ever have to compromise in bed. Give and take yes, but never compromise. Everyone should get what they want. Unless what you want is stupid. Forcing someone to brush their teeth when you should be completely caught up in the moment certainly qualifies as stupid in my books."

She laughed. "I'd like to say Pam's drill sergeant tactics were stupid, but if I just got to experience the end result of them, then I should be buying her a present."

"Well, I like to think I have a bit of natural talent, lets not give Pam all the credit." I winked at her. "Are you hungry? Do you want to go get some lunch, or I guess an early dinner?"

"I could eat. But before I eat, and then have to meet your colleagues, I need a shower. Nothing screams professional like smelling like sex and the shinkansen." She got up and I rolled on my side, watching her gorgeous naked form make its way across the room. I lay there, listened to her turn the shower on, then hopped up to join her.

The bathroom was huge, with a corner tub and a stand up shower stall that was certainly large enough for two. I cracked the door open and peeked in at her hot, soapy body in the shower. "Mind if I join you? Its very efficient." I crawled in, and she moved back a bit to make room.

"Well we all have to do our part to save the environment." She grabbed the little bottle of shampoo.

"Let me do that." She handed it over, and proceeded to lather up her hair, taking my time to really massage it in, and then run my fingers through it, while rinsing it out."

"Mmmm that feels wonderful. Bend down and let me do yours." She poured some shampoo onto her hands and lathered up my hair, giving it the same attention that I had given hers. "When did you cut your hair short? Amelia kept showing me pictures of your other hair while she was cyber stalking you."

"I cut it the day after I found Pam. I figured I needed a change in more ways than one. I wasn't really attached to the long hair. Pam was more into it, which is odd, because all the girls she was into usually had shorter hair. Anyway, this feels much more like me."

"I like it. Its very rugged." She laughed as she fashioned a soapy mohawk. "This look also works. Honestly, I don't think there's much that wouldn't work on you." She ran her fingers through it, rinsing out all the soap and then running her fingers down my chest. "Lets take a raincheck on this shower. I'm starving, and thinking about us coming back here will certainly help get me through your business meeting tonight."

"Deal, but I'm holding you to that. You and me have a date with this later." I grabbed the detachable showerhead and held it to her nipple.

She giggled. "Is that a promise?"

"Yes." I turned off the water, stepped out and grabbed one of the terrycloth robes, throwing her the other. "I insist on keeping you fed to keep your strength up, so lets get going. The sooner we go, the sooner I can come back and have you again."

"Deal." We headed out of the bedroom, into our respective suitcases. I pulled my go-to grey suit out of its garment bag, along with a cobalt coloured shirt, and a pair of black briefs that I made a point of showing Sookie.

"See, they aren't all bright." I watched, enthralled, as she shimmied back into her black boycut underwear.

"Look, we match." I watched her rummage through the bag of clothes that I had brought and pull out a deep purple wrap dress that was one of the few things that I had actually picked out. I smiled and she tied it around her body. It accented her curves, just as I had imagined it doing, even on the rack.

"That looks amazing on you."

"Thanks, I think its my favourite out of all these new favourites. And, I even have a pair of shoes that will go perfectly with it." She pulled a pair of black pumps with the tiniest bit of purple detailing on the vamp. When I finished dressing, I mussed up my hair a bit and sat down at the bed to watch Sookie primp and preen, blowdrying her hair straight and applying the softest bit of makeup. I could watch her do anything. She was so graceful and elegant, even in the most simplistic motion, like applying mascara. After about ten minutes, she stood up. "All ready to go." I laughed as she stuffed her flip flops in her oversized purse. "A girl can never be too careful in heels. Besides, this time of year, you never know when you will get hit by a downpour."

I held my arm out, and she took it, linking mine with hers. "Shall we?"

"We shall." We headed out, into the hot, hot heat.

After we walked for about ten minutes, I lost my suit jacket. I really had no idea how my Japanese counterparts wore suits outside in the summer. I would have been sweating in my briefs. In fact, I was sweating in my briefs.

I looked over at Sookie, who was also glistening. "Let's take the underground route. We can find somewhere to eat down there."

She nodded her agreement, pulling a small hankie out of her purse and dabbing her forehead, in an ever-so-ladylike fashion. "I never needed one of these until I came here."

"You have a real bag of tricks there Stackhouse. What else do you have?"

She leaned in. "I'll tell you what I don't have." She leaned in further and whispered, "Condoms for later."

The idea of being up inside her with nothing between us, was more than I could handle. And just like that, I had an incredibly hot and sweaty boner. "No fair. Do you realize how uncomfortable this is for me." I tried my hardest to adjust without being too obvious. "We need to find some air conditioning immediately."

"You really are all hot and bothered. That's too cute." She pulled me into a McDonalds and ordered us strawberry milkshakes. "We can sit here for a bit."

"So, tell me about this meeting later. Who are we meeting and what's the deal?"

"We are meeting with a quite established trading partner, Mr. Hashimoto. I can assure you that the conversation will be poor, his breath will be awful, and he will probably spend most of our time together staring at your breasts. I prefer his vice-president, Shinji, but he is unavailable. His wife just had a child, so he's on dad duty for the night."

"Wow, sounds like a dream evening."

"We won't stay too long. He's good for about an hour and then he usually looks for some hostess to talk pretty to him. That will be our cue to escape."

We finished our milkshakes and walked around for a bit. I found a present for Sookie to give my Mom, a beautiful hand-painted kokeshi doll. I always brought her one back when I was in Japan, so I got her one as well. She had quite the collection in her study. I also picked Pam up a couple of handpainted cards for her new apartment. She always had some Asian influence when she decorated, so I thought I'd give her something to get her started.

We found a Korean restaurant, about a ten minute walk from where we were meeting Hashimoto, and ordered dinner. Despite not being as into Korean culture, I did love their food. The contrast in the flavour of Japanese and Korean food always amazed me, one so salty, and the other so spicy.

We both ordered bibimbop, and it was so spicy that we both ended up drinking about eight glasses of water. Luckily the service was good, and they kept it coming. I always found it odd when I was here not tipping, but culturally it was unacceptable, just like giving money to the homeless people who lined certain streets, living in neat and tidy boxes that they took their shoes off outside of. The Japanese were a very proud people, and being homeless didn't make you a begger like it did in many other countries.

Our evening with Hashimoto was much as expected, with his eyes glued to Sookie's chest for most of the evening. I shot her a number of sympathetic looks, and when he stepped out to go to the bathroom, she assured me that she was all right, and I assured her that we would leave as soon as humanly possible. It made me a bit angry, because it was obvious that she wasn't some girl brought here for his amusement, since I had my arm around her for most of the evening, making it quite clear that she was mine. I also knew though that picking a fight with a powerful man that my father had spent nearly twenty years building a relationship with wouldn't do anyone any good, and it wasn't as though he made any inappropriate comments or tried to cop a feel. That would be a different story.

As predicted, about an hour after we arrived and had settled our business, his attentions turned to a pretty blond Russian hostess, who had began paying him some attention. I politely excused us, bowing deeply on the way out, and we hopped in a cab and headed back to the hotel.

"You were right, he was a real treat." Sookie adjusted her dress to cover a bit more of her cleavage.

"Well, those uncomfortable stares just earned me about a five per cent increase in profits. He wasn't paying attention to anything I was proposing, just agreeing to everything. I'll give you a cut." I winked at her.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm so happy that everyone is loving this story, its been so fun to write! Keep the feedback coming! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season, and for those of you reading Over My Dead Body, I promise I'll get back to it soon...this is just a bit of a detour!**

Sookie

I think I would chalk up our evening drinks with Hashimoto to my first and only foray into the hostess business. Having been here for about seven months, I knew what businessmen expected when they saw a white girl in a bar like we were in. He assumed I was a prop, there to entertain him, no matter what body language Eric was using, which was certainly possessive enough that he probably should gotten the hint. When he stepped out and Eric asked if I was ok, I assured him that I was. I knew nothing would happen with him there, or otherwise, since I could have most certainly kicked his ass. Growing up with Jason, mad fighting skills were something I had in spades.

Nevertheless, I was glad when we hightailed it out of there, really more because I was eager to hop back in the shower with Eric, not only to get the stank of the bar off of me, but to see what his plans with that showerhead were. Spending an entire evening with his hands all over me possessively had been a bit like foreplay, and strangely arousing. Watching Eric in aggressive business mode was also pretty damn sexy.

We arrived back at the hotel after about ten minutes in the tiny cab. I never noticed how small things were until Eric was next to or in them. I slid my hand over to meet his and he stroked my palm with his thumb.

"I'm sorry about that. I should have said something."

"Its ok, really. Its not like he crossed any lines or asked me back to his place or anything. I really do get looked at like that quite often."

"Well, my meeting tomorrow is a proper dinner, with some younger associates and their wives, so it should be a better experience. That is, if you still want to come."

"Of course I do."I nuzzled my nose into his neck.

We got out of the cab and walked quickly through the lobby, and back up to our room. Things got a bit heated in the elevator and we both walked back to the room looking pretty rumpled. He swooped me up as we walked through the door and carried me into the bathroom. I began unbuttoning his shirt while he held me in his incredibly strong arms, his mouth never leaving mine as our tongues performed what was a very sexy dance.

When we were in the bathroom, he set me down, and with one quick pull, had untied my dress.

"I've been figuring out the logistics on that dress all evening." He smirked, as he pushed it off my shoulders and onto the floor. I quickly moved to undo his pants, and pulled them, along with his underwear to the floor. He quickly removed my underwear and bra and pulled me into the shower."I believe I'm owed a raincheck." He turned the shower on and grabbed the removable head, and with one of his large hands, pinned my two smaller ones above my head. With his other hand, he began running the strong jets over my breasts, alternating between them. I let out a loud moan, as he started moving the head lower. When he reached my clit, I became like a woman possessed. I tried to stifle my moans, but Eric shook his head.

"Lover, this shower is pretty soundproof. Let me know how good it feels." He leaned in and whispered in my ear. "I want to hear you scream my name."

And within about three minutes, I did. Boy, did I ever. When I had retained my wits, I grabbed Eric, and pulled him out of the shower. We made it to the floor beside the bed before I collapsed onto him.

"I need you inside me now." I hissed at him, and he complied, entering me in one quick, sharp thrust. I cried out, from the feeling of being filled completely, so quickly, but that feeling quickly gave way to very audible moans of pleasure from both of us.

"Fuck Lover, you are so hot, wet, and tight. You are fucking everything." He moaned into my mouth. The things this guy did to my ego.

I moved my mouth to his neck, and ran my tongue along it, stopping to nibble and suck on it. It was his turn to moan, as I pushed myself down on him hard, and repeating the same fucking hot action over and over again.. He reached up and squeezed my breasts, running his thumbs over my very perky breasts. I moaned as he rolled them in his thumb and forefinger, before pinching them, which set me off. I had no idea that my breasts were such a hot spot before Eric came along. I reciprocated, by reaching behind me and running my thumb along his balls, before grasping them gently and giving a little squeeze.

"Oh. Fuck." He cried out as I felt him unload into me, filling me even further as his dick pulsed inside of me. "I totally had things under control until you did the ol' reach around." He laughed as I rolled off of him and settled into the crook of his arm. "Fuck, the things you do to me."

I laughed. "Likewise. You and my breasts are a dangerous combination." We peeled ourselves off the floor, and I winced at Eric's carpet burned back, running my fingers down the red welts. "That looks painful."

"It is, but it was totally worth it. I'm going to go fill up the tub, since our round in the shower hardly constitutes getting clean. In fact, after your screams in there, that shower is about as dirty as it gets. I'll never be able to go in there without getting hard at the thought." He winked at me. " Join me? There's room for about five in there."

"But of course." We hopped in and started filling the tub, sitting across from each other, my legs in between his. The tub was almost as deep as it was large, with the water coming up to my shoulders once it filled up. We sat there for a quiet moment, until I broke the silence. "Tell me about your family."

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, what are they like?I feel like your Mom already knows me, or she just has fabulous taste."

"She just has fabulous taste. My Mom is well poised, has impeccable manners, and the warmest heart of anyone I've ever known. My Dad saw her, walking from her apartment to work, over thirty years ago, and he said he was done for. He always said that she didn't have to say a word and he was already trying to figure out how to make her his. He did, but it involved a lot of very hard work on his part, which he constantly reminds her of. After two years of flying between Toronto and Oslo, on a monthly basis, she finally agreed to come back with him, after she finished her Phd, which took another two years on top of that. She teaches a couple of economics courses at different universities around Oslo, but never took a full-time position because she travelled with Dad for work as much as possible. It was always his job, but her poise and grace went a long way in securing some of his most lucrative clients, including our friend Hashimoto. One of his associates once told him that it was because such an outstanding woman like her had chosen him that he agreed to do business with him. He figured that he must be an honourable man."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters? I've never heard you talk about anyone."

Eric shook his head. "I was born a couple of years after they married, but they didn't have any luck after that. Mom had a couple of very late term miscarriages, which were very hard on her. I remember being so excited about having a little brother or sister and then having everyone quickly shut up about it after that. I think that's why she constantly worries about me. I remember her holding me, so tight after the last one and promising her that I'd never go anywhere. She always pulled out of it though. She's like a lioness when it comes to me though. I was actually surprised that she didn't do something awful to Pam when she returned her ring."

"Did your Mom really like Pam?"

Eric wrinkled his forehead. "Mom knew Pam forever, and she liked that she made me happy. The marriage pressure really came from Dad, who, I guess was remembering back to his years of chasing Mom and the importance of securing things while they were in reach. Mom and Pam butted heads on a few things, and when I told her about what had happened between us, her immediate response was the she knew that she had been hiding something. She's a pretty good judge of character, obviously better than her son."

"I think you are a pretty good judge of character. You nailed Bill pretty quickly."

"I think its improving." He smiled over at me. "What about your family?"

"As you know, I grew up with my Gran and my brother Jason. My parents were killed when I was six, when a bridge they were driving on washed out. I don't remember much about them at all, I wish I remembered more. Jason reminds me a lot of my Dad looks wise, but he's a real manwhore, which my Dad certainly wasn't. He and my mother were high school sweethearts, and the thing I'll remember most about them was their unwavering affection for one another. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, but they were always happy."

"Do you ever talk to Jason?"

"We email back and forth once and a while. He's been collecting my mail, so he'll let me know if something comes for me. He usually sends me a package for the big holidays. He emailed last week to ask what I wanted him to send for my birthday in July. He and Bill didn't get along, so that created a bit of a rift between us. He was the first person I called after I dumped him, and he tried to play it cool, but I could tell her was really happy. I guess you aren't the only one who has been a poor judge of character in the past, but I like to think I'm improving too."

"Do you think you'll ever go back, to your Gran's house, to live?"

"I don't think so. I just don't have the heart to sell it. There's really not much for me in Bon Temps anymore. I'd like to go back to school eventually, maybe do my masters in teaching English as a second language. I actually find teaching far more rewarding than I thought I would. I'm not sure I would want to stay here forever, but for the time being, its a pretty great way to earn a living for now."

We sat there for a while, until the water started to get cold and our hands started to get pruny. We mutually agreed that it was time to get out and Eric hopped out first, handing me over an incredibly fluffy towel. We both wrapped ourselves up, dried off and crawled into bed.

***

Eric

From the minute I mentioned my Dad trying to come up with a way to make my Mom his, I realized that I had been doing the same thing since I saw her in the train station that afternoon. The connection that we had was, more than I ever thought I'd have with someone I'd known for such a short amount of time, but it was unmistakable. I was relieved when she said she wasn't committed to returning to Bon Temps, because that would have made things quite difficult. I knew I was going to have to be patient if this was going to work out. I'd always been a patient man, but I'd have to be careful not to take things too fast. I was concerned about coming on too strong and scaring her off.

I curled up against her, as we both fell into sleep. I had wonderful dreams of her in in my house again, like earlier, reading the paper at my huge oak table, smiling up at me.

Then next few days went by far too quickly. We spent the next day at the Tokyo Zoo, and then attended dinner with some of my associates and their families. Shinji was there with his wife and baby, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of father I would be. It all seemed so far away, December, the baby, trying to work out details with Pam, but if the last few days were any indication how of time flies, it would all be here before I knew it. And then I looked over and saw Sookie holding little Mayumi, cooing at her, trying to get her to giggle and my heart melted. She brought the baby over to me and put her in my arms. It felt quite uncomfortable for a moment, but after a few minutes of her giggling and trying to grab my nose, I relaxed a bit. She felt so fragile, almost breakable.

"Eric, you aren't going to break her." Shinji laughed me, awkwardly holding his daughter.

"I'm not too used to babies I guess." I moved a hand and rubbed her tiny back, which was apparently a bad idea because she spit up all over the front of my shirt. Shinji's wife, Akiko, quickly came over and took her.

"Sorry about that. Here's a face cloth." She handed one over and I used a bit of water from my glass to dab the stain on my shirt. Sookie laughed and came and stood by my side, linking my arm with hers.

"I guess you better get used to that. I think babies do it a lot." She grinned up at me. "December's coming."

"So I'm coming to realize more and more each day."

Saying goodbye got harder and easier at the same time. It was harder because I knew that I wasn't going to see her for two weeks, but easier knowing that even when we were apart, we were still building our relationship, even when we weren't physically together. We talked constantly, setting aside a part of each of our days, every day we were apart. She became a part of me, something I didn't need to see, but always knew was there, in the back of my mind.

The next couple of visits went by quite quickly, as did the time between them. I bought Sookie's plane ticket to Norway for her for her birthday in July, which made her day, especially when I told her that I'd arranged to be in Japan the two weeks before, so we could fly back together. Her brother sent her a nice package, including about 20 letters from Bill, which she promptly threw in the garbage, without even opening them. Jason sent her some of her Gran's preserves and a few other treats from home that she had been missing. When I stayed with her, I started booking a hotel room for part of the stay, and staying in her tiny room the rest of the time. I liked sharing her space, and looking at her little nicknacks that she collected over the years. Her bed also smelled like her, and although it was very small and on the floor, I slept like the dead with her in my arms, no matter where we were. When she went to work, I often spent time with Amelia, watching movies or walking around Kyoto. Amelia and Sookie worked opposite shifts most days, so Amelia and I became quite close when she'd have to work. Her and Sookie were perfect opposites, but that's probably why they got along so well. Her Aussie boyfriend was nice as well, and the three of us would often grab a beer while we waited for Sookie to finish work.

I loved her. I knew it because I could feel it in my bones, when I was with her and when I wasn't. Every time I left, it was a littler harder to pry myself away from her, even though it meant I could immediately start counting the days until I saw her again.

Pam's pregnancy was progressing well. She was starting to really show and I went to every doctor's appointment that I could with her. It was amazing watching our baby on the monitor each time, squirming and moving around. I was still concerned with how Pam was going to react to Sookie though. She didn't really like to talk about her and I, which I found a bit disconcerting, and always refereed to her as the teacher, never Sookie. Before I left to fly back to Japan, when I was going to bring Sookie back with me, I invited Pam over for lunch.

"Pam, as you know, I'm bringing Sookie back with me for a month. We'll be back together in a couple of weeks and she wants to meet you."

"Are you serious enough that its worth it? I'm a lot to deal with, and especially in my current state." Pam had been a bit of an emotional wreck over the past couple of weeks, switching from tears to fury at the drop of a hat. I knew it was the hormones, but she'd been quite impossible.

"Yes. If I have my way, she'll be around as much as she's willing to be. I want you and her to be comfortable with each other, for me and for the baby."

"Then fine. You better warn her beforehand though, because I can't promise to be on my best behaviour." I realized that it had been easy for Pam to deal with me moving on, because she never had to see it, beyond a couple of pictures in the hall when she came over for lunch. She pretty much had me as much as she wanted me, when I was in Oslo.

"Pam, I love her. I trust you will be on your best behaviour. Things have been very amicable between us, but if you create problems, then I cannot promise they will continue to be." I looked at her, and she knew from my tone that I was serious.

"Fine Eric." She rolled her eyes at me. I'd be glad when she had this baby and went back to her normal, usually pleasant self, even with her usual sarcastic streak.

My mother, on the other hand, was beyond thrilled to meet Sookie. She had me email her and get a list of all her favourite foods and things she wanted to do while she was here. I knew they'd get along, because Mom had already been commenting on a change in my manner, which she had decided to contribute completely to Sookie's influence.

Secretly, I hoped that after a month here, she'd decide she wanted to stay forever. I had to cut back on my Japan time in the fall, to once every three weeks to focus on Hong Kong and I had promised Pam and Mom that I would stick around in December, since the baby was due mid-month. We hadn't discussed it yet, but I hoped her coming here would help to broach the topic. I knew her school was closed for a couple of weeks at New Year, so I was planning to buy her a ticket here for Christmas.

I spent most of my time in Japan before we headed back sorting out all the business I needed to, in order to take a month off. I met her in Kyoto two days before we were booked to fly out of Osaka. I arrived at her apartment and let myself in (with Bill's spare key ironically) before she got home from school, with a very large bouquet. It was about a million degrees, so I cranked the air conditioner to wait for her.

She arrived, very hot and sweaty about a half hour after I did. "Thank god you turned the air conditioner up. Its unbearable out there. I'll be really glad to get out of here for a bit." Kyoto lay in a valley, so the heat was pretty stagnant, which made it all the more unbearable.

"I missed you, and I'm excited to get you out of here for a bit too." I smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, which we both broke quite quickly, due to the unbearable temperature of the other's body.

"I don't suppose you want to head up to Osaka tonight? Once Amelia gets here, its going to be unbearable with four people in this apartment, and Tray's just back from Australia, so I'm sure he'll be over."

"Sure. I didn't book a hotel here, but I can book one there just as easily. Do you want me to help you pack?"

"No, two of us moving in here will be too hot. You sit down and I'll pack." I folded myself onto her futon and watched as she filled her suitcase. I watched as she critically examined her clothing, tossing in the odd piece here and there. After a few minutes, she humphed herself down on the futon beside me.

"I don't have anything to wear. Your family is going to think I'm a slob." She laid down, looking at the ceiling.

"Don't be silly. My Mom hasn't stopped talking about meeting you in four months. They will both love you. You are wonderful and charming and I love you, so they will love you."

"Hold on." She rolled over to look at me. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I love you, so they'll love you." I stopped myself, realizing that I hadn't told her that before. I had thought it almost every day for a couple of months now, but I hadn't said it, for fear that it was too soon. I ran my hand over my mouth, anxious to hear her reaction.

"I thought that's what I heard." She took my face in her hands, and although they were sticky, her touch felt as wonderful as it always did. "I love you too. I've been a bit nervous to say it, because I didn't want to scare you off. Now get up, and tell me about the weather in Oslo this time of year. Do I need to take a sweater?"

And just like that, we'd said it. "Yea, I would take a couple. Its nowhere near the temperature here, and the nights are a little cool. Now hurry up, so I can get you to Osaka, so we can spend the rest of the night in central A/C." The room-sized one in their apartment was really terrible. She picked up the pace, left a note for Amelia and we were off.

We spent the next day in Osaka mostly in the hotel room and underground, hiding from the sweltering heat. We picked out some sweets to take back for Mom and Dad, and Sookie picked out a box of candy for Pam, that I remembered her liking. I was scared shitless about the two of them meeting, but I was doing my best to hide it. I remembered Pam's reaction to a few of my girlfriends when we weren't together and it was usually terrifying enough to drive them running for the hills. I hoped our very final breakup would soften her a bit, although I had my doubts.

The next day, our flight was at 7am, so we got up very early. I smiled at Sookie as she fussed and mussed, knowing my parents were picking us up at the airport that evening here, but what would be late morning there.

"Lover, after a 12 hour flight, they don't expect you to look perfect, or even be coherent. Both of them have taken this flight hundreds of times. They'll drop us off at my house, we'll go nap, and then meet them for dinner. You'll have loads of time to unnecessarily fuss over your gorgeous looks then." I had tried to convince them to let us get a taxi home, since my car was getting serviced, but they were having none of it.

"I know, but I want to make a good impression. I'm not relying on your logic that they will love me by default because you do." She blushed and smiled over at me, as she did whenever either of us had dropped the love bomb over the past couple of days. I smiled back at her, happy that I had finally said it, and remembering what spectacular sex it had led to many, many times since.

When she was finally done, we got a cab to the airport and narrowly made our flight. Once we were seated, we both slowly faded into sleep. I was glad I'd booked business class, so we could both get a bit of shut eye. I really needed the extra leg room.

After about 6 hours, Sookie finally woke up. I had been sleeping fitfully, as I usually did, but she was out like a light.

"Did you take something before you got on the plane? Once of the stewardesses stopped by to see if you were ok."

She laughed. "Nope, this is how I fly. Something about the motion makes me sleep like a baby."

"I wish I could sleep like that. Now that I have you awake Lover, what are you thoughts on the mile-high club?" I murmured the last part in her ear.

She smacked my arm. "And look all messy and smell like sex when I meet your parents for the first time? Buddy, you are dreaming." Now she leaned over and murmured in my ear. "But all bets are off once we get to your house."

I raised my eyebrow. "You drive a hard bargain Stackhouse."

After about four more hours, and a terrible Adam Sandler movie later, Sookie turned to me. "I don't know how you do this flight every couple of weeks and then turn up at my apartment so perky and wonderful, especially since you don't sleep."

"Its all you Lover, all you." I wrapped an arm around her. "Shinji just remarked the other day how much more pleasant I was than usual. I hadn't even noticed."

She curled into my arm, and took my other arm in her hands, slowly dragging her fingers across it. "This is what my Gran used to do, to get me to sleep when I was little. You should try and get a couple of hours in, so you can make good on your promise when we get back to your place."

Her magic arm voodoo worked. I was out like a light in ten minutes. When I woke up, the announcement for our descent into Oslo had just sounded.

"Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She squeezed my hand and I shot her a reassuring grin.


	8. Chapter 8

**Since you reviewed the hell out of the last chapter, here's another! I'm glad everyone is liking this so much! I've gotten a couple of questions about Japanese things that I've mentioned in the story, if you aren't sure what things are, shoot me a message and I'll fill you in!**

Sookie

We landed quite quickly and were waiting for our luggage at the carousel when we were rushed by a petite brunette woman, with vibrant blue eyes, who was pretty much exactly how I imagined Eric's mom. She was impeccably dressed, in a black cotton dress, with a white cardigan over it and belted, and a pair of flats that I recognized to be very expensive. She had a huge pair of sunglasses pushed up in her hair and a pearl necklace with matching earrings. Her hair was up, drawing attention to her great bone structure. Sauntering behind her, hands in his pockets, was Eric in thirty years. The only difference was that Eric certainly had his mother's eyes.

She ran up to me, ignoring Eric and clasped my hands. "You must be Sookie. Your pictures don't do you justice. You are so lovely. I'm Elsie, Eric's mom." She wrapped her arms around me, in a huge hug, which, once I got over the shock of actually arriving and being here, I quickly reciprocated. "Its so nice to finally meet you."

"Its wonderful to meet you as well. I'm really excited to be here." She beamed up at me and then moved over to Eric.

"And you. Were you able to sleep on the flight?" Eric shook his head and she wrapped her arms around him like she never wanted to let go. "You both must be tired. Do you have everything?" We both nodded and Eric's dad, who hadn't said a word, but had the smirk that I'd grown to love in his son, finally spoke. "Sookie, its lovely to meet you. Let me grab your suitcase."

"Thanks Mr. Northman."

"Its Peter." He smiled warmly at me and I felt instantly comfortable. If this was a glimpse into future Eric, then I liked what I saw.

We all got into Elsie's Volvo SUV, and after a very chatty drive, I learned that we were expected for dinner around 8, which left us the whole day to recuperate from our flight. After we had been driving for a few minutes, Eric slid his hand across the seat, taking mine. I noticed his mother beaming in the rear view mirror.

"So you are enjoying Japan then Sookie?" Peter turned around from the passenger seat. "I used to spend so much time there. Eric said you met Hashimoto huh? He was always such a pain in the ass. It took Elsie flirting with him a bit to finally get him to do business with me." She shot him a look and smacked his arm.

"Yea, I'm really enjoying it. I will have been there a year in December. We had drinks with Mr. Hashimoto in May. I have to say, I do prefer Shinji."

"Shinji has a good heart. It goes a long way, when you work with someone like Hashimoto. They are a good pair."

Elsie piped up. "Remember the first time I met Hashimoto? You almost kicked his ass because he wouldn't stop staring at me."

"I guess he hasn't changed too much then." Eric chimed in. We all laughed a bit.

After a few minutes, we pulled into the end unit in a lovely row of pale blue townhouses.

"So Eric, let me know if you need us to pick you up later. I called and arranged for them to drop your car off, but they said it may be later on. Sookie, we will see you later." Elsie smiled broadly at me. "I'm just so glad you are here."

I beamed back. "Thanks for picking us up." Eric waved goodbye, grabbed my bag and suitcase and we headed up the front stairs. He unlocked the door, and I followed him into one of the most lovely homes I'd ever seen. Everything was different shades of blue, contrasted with dark, masculine wood floors and accents. It was very much Eric.

I immediately noticed our pictures stuck in the mirror by the door and smiled. "Eric, your house is lovely."

"Unfortunately, I can't take any credit for it. It was all Pam's doing. She did do a good job though, everything was white when we moved in. Let me take you on the tour." We walked through the kitchen, which was right off the entry way, around to the living room, into his office, into the downstairs bathroom, and finally upstairs. "There's three bedrooms. He opened a couple of closed doors, and finally landed in the master bedroom, which was massive. "This is the only room I changed when she moved out. It used to be this weird greeny yellowy colour that didn't go with the rest of the house. I also sent all the old bedroom furniture over to her new place, since she picked it all out." Now this room was Eric, with heavy dark furniture on plush carpet, with navy blue walls. "The bathroom is over there." He pointed at door to the right. "And the closet is over here. I cleared out a couple of drawers for you. I didn't want you to have to live out of your suitcase for three weeks."

"The temperature is so nice here, compared to where we came from." I stood in the window, relishing the cool summer breeze. I could tell the water was close from the way the air felt. Eric came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I can't believe you're really here." He nuzzled into my hair.

"Believe it." I turned to face him and started undoing his shirt. When I was done with the shirt, I moved to the pants, and pushed him into bed. "You with the incredibly comfortable beds." I lay there as Eric pulled off my jeans and top. We crawled under the covers, and I looked over to see a picture of us that Amelia had taken a couple of months before in a silver frame on the night stand. I liked that I was here, even when I wasn't.

Eric noticed me noticing it and smiled. "Sometimes I need to be reminded that you aren't some elaborate fantasy either." He rubbed his hands up my arms and pulled me in for the sweetest kiss. Gone was the urgency we usually had, trying to fit as much as we could into a few days. We had weeks, and for one of the first times, being here, I could picture much longer. I knew my time in Japan was limited. People never stayed forever. The novelty of getting away from everything would wear off after a while I really didn't have much of a plan for after that, but laying here, in the place that was home to the person who had so quickly come to symbolize home to me felt like it held some deeper meaning. He was a part of my every day, even when he was here and I was there.

Enough thinking. Things would sort themselves out. They had so far. I leaned into his kiss and he rolled on top of me. The weight of his body on mine felt incredible. I reached down and grasped him, guiding him to my entrance. Once there, we made the sweetest love, sweeter than I ever thought possible. It was slow, and incredibly intimate and his lips never left mine. The look in his eyes screamed volumes about his feelings for me, if I had ever had any doubts, they were certainly erased. When we had both achieved the most intimate of climaxes, he moved to my side and held me, his arms around my waist.

"I love you. I think I always did." He murmured into my hair as we drifted off to sleep.

I awoke a few hours later, quite rejuvenated from my hours of sleep on the plane. Eric was still sleeping, so I wriggled out of his grasp, got up, threw on his robe and decided to take a little walk around. My last tour had been pretty brief, and I wanted to see more. I tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen and sat at the table, just taking in the space. It was very Eric, which showed me that Pam knew him very well. I wasn't really sure how I felt about meeting her. I knew I was going to have a hard time understanding the dynamic of their relationship. Something caught my eye on the fridge. It was a sonogram picture, which kind of hit home for me. It had been quite easy to avoid thinking about Eric's upcoming responsibilities and the fact that his life was about to change dramatically in a few short months, which, in turn was certainly going to alter mine. I plucked the picture from the fridge, examining it. At five months, it was most certainly a baby, one that was already called Baby Northman on the bottom of the photo. I returned it to the fridge and continued my tour.

I walked into the living room and stopped at a gorgeous photo of Eric and his mom. It looked like it was at his university graduation and she was beaming up at him with a look of pride and love that warmed my heart. I liked her from the moment I laid eyes on her in the airport. Her unconditional love for him was completely evident the moment she saw him at the luggage carousel. I picked her out long before she came over to us. I was excited to see more of both of them at dinner, because I knew I'd learn to know Eric even better through them.

His office was shades of green, with heavy furniture. He kept things very tidy and I sat down in his big leather chair, realizing that this is where he sat when we talked, night after night. I smiled, knowing that I'd be able to picture this room the next time we were apart, instead of having to imagine it.

I got up and headed upstairs, but I stopped when I noticed a box of framed photos in the corner. Curiosity got the better of me and I pulled a couple of them out. First was the engagement photo I'd seen on the internet. That was to be expected, they had only broken up a few months before, even though it seemed like much longer. What do you even do with things like that? I thought of my house in Louisiana, which I was sure still had pictures of Bill and I on the walls, unless Jason had taken them down. I snickered at the thought of Jason having a 'fuck Bill' celebratory bonfire in the backyard, erasing every trace of Bill from our lives. Next up was a much older picture of them, from what looked like prom. Eric's hair was short again and Pam's hair was dyed a shade of medium brown and she was wearing a very pink dress. They both looked completely bored. Pam looked completely different than the picture before. The last one I hauled out was of two very small blond children on opposite ends of a teeter-totter. They were about six. The boy was grinning maniacally and the girl was missing her two front teeth. They really had known each other for ever. I put them back and headed back upstairs.

Eric hadn't budged and I wedged myself back in his arms. He stirred a little bit, but went right back to sleep. I closed my eyes, and rolled around to face him, nuzzling my face into his chest. He smelled so good, an indescribable Eric smell. I fell back to sleep for a couple of hours, feeling so warm and safe in Eric's huge, cool, and comfortable bed.

We both started stirring around 6. I woke when Eric pulled me into him, squeezing me tight. "You are really here." He grinned at me, kissing my forehead.

"In the flesh." I winked.

"I love having you in my bed. Well, I love having you in any bed, but especially my bed."

"I'm just happy being in a bed. You here makes it even better." I kissed his chest, where my head was resting.

"Alas Lover, I think we may have to leave this bed shortly. I promise it will be worthwhile though, when you have my Mom's roast pork. I desperately need a shower as well, although you are more than welcome to join me."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything." We both hopped up and headed for the shower, keeping it pretty no-nonsense, but washing each other.'s hair as we usually did. It was such a simple act, but one we both enjoyed. Being here, in a real home, made everything a little more intimate, than staying in a hotel or even in my apartment. I could picture this as my home, as our home.

We quietly got dressed, Eric putting on a simple black sweater and jeans, and me putting on a emerald green tank dress and a cream coloured cardigan that Eric's Mom had sent a couple of months ago.

"You look lovely. I'm just going to go and check if my car was returned."

"I should email Amelia. Do you mind if I use your computer?"

"Sure, go for it."

We hiked downstairs and I checked my email while Eric went to look his car over. Amelia had emailed me, telling me how envious she was of me getting out of Kyoto for a bit, because it had somehow gotten even hotter. Her and Tray had booked a vacation to Okinawa during the break so he could teach her how to surf. She teased me about never coming back after spending a month in bed with Eric. I chuckled because it may not have been so far from the truth. Jason had also emailed me, to let me know that he had had an offer on Gran's house, and that we should talk about it, since it was starting to fall into disrepair. Gran had left us enough money to cover property taxes for a few years, but it was something I really had to consider. I emailed them both back, and promised Jason that I'd call him in a week, after I had some time to think it over.

I walked out of the office and headed out to find Eric in the garage. He was checking over the paperwork for his car, a red BMW sports car that Jason would have drooled all over.

"This is a pretty sweet car, and I don't even like cars."

"Yea, its sort of my baby." Eric sighed. "I guess I'll need to get something else when my other baby comes along."

"Its going to be a pretty big change huh?"

"I can't even fathom all the ways its going to be a big change." He shook his head. "Honestly, its been pretty easy to be in denial about the whole thing, but I won't be able to be for much longer."

I half smiled at him. "You'll do fine. That kid will be lucky to have you. Come on in, let's get the stuff for your parents and you can show me around your neighbourhood a bit before we have to go. I need a bit of a walk, my legs are cramped up from the plane."

"Sounds good. There's a park about five minutes from here." We went inside and got everything ready to take over to Eric's parents, then headed out for a short walk. We came to a small park and walked through. I quietly took in the different types of trees and plants, which were very different from both Louisiana and Japan. The trees were all old and large and they had a magical quality to them, almost like somewhere that elves and fairies would live.

"Its really beautiful here. Almost magical."

"Yea, you aren't the first to think so. We have a very rich mythological tradition. Lots of fairies, elves, all of that."

"I can almost picture them." I smiled up at him.

"You're cute. Let's just go over this hill here, and then we should head back. Mom and Dad are about a twenty minute drive from here." We hiked over the hill, which gave us a great view of the water, then headed back to Eric's house. He ran in and grabbed the treats we'd picked up in Osaka, and then we headed over to his parent's house.

"I usually drive a bit recklessly, but I'll be gentle, since its your first time." He winked at me, as we turned down his parent's street. We walked up the steps to a large white home with a black roof. Eric's mom opened the door and greeted me with a huge hug.

"Did you both get a bit of sleep?"

"Yep, we slept away most of the afternoon." Eric grabbed her and gave her a huge hug. "I can already smell your roast. I've been looking forward to it all day." We walked in and it was all I could do from standing there, my mouth agape. The house was huge.

"Your home is lovely Elsie." I looked around at the beautiful wood, the intricate detail was incredible.

"Thank you darling. Eric, go set the table while I take Sookie on the tour." She linked arms with me while Eric headed off to what I assume was the dining room. "We've lived here since Eric was a little boy." We weaved our way through room after room, the walls lined with beautiful artwork. "We picked most of this stuff up on our travels. Peter likes to get something new for the house every time we go anywhere. He's a bit of a packrat." I laughed as we walked into her study and saw several shelves full of wooden kokeshi dolls.

"Eric wasn't kidding when he said you had a huge collection."

"Yea, Peter started buying them for me every time he was in Japan, and then Eric kept it up. I guess it goes to show the frequent flyer miles we've accumulated over the years. I should send some of them over to Eric's house. Its a bit sparse on the decoration since Pamela moved out."

"Its a lovely home though."

"Yea, its my son through and through. Pam certainly knows him well; too bad she was keeping so much from him for all these years. I guess you haven't crossed paths with her yet?"

"Nope, not yet." I winced a bit.

"Good. She's been an insufferable bitch lately. Pregnancy does not agree with her." She laughed and I laughed along nervously. "Honestly Sookie, I don't how how he would have made it through all this without having you to keep his mind off of things. You've been a ray of sunshine in what has been a pretty dark time for all of us. "

"Thanks, he's been very good for me as well. Did he tell you about how we met?" She pulled me into a loveseat in front of a beautiful picture window.

"He just said that you met at Osaka Castle and something about an ex-boyfriend."

I recanted the whole story to her, ending with Amelia and the frying pan. She laughed so hard that she had tears in her eyes. "It sounds like you both came along at a pretty good time for each other. The universe works in most mysterious ways."

We smiled at each other as Eric walked in. "My ears are burning. I hope you aren't telling her anything embarrassing Mom."

"No, no, she was just telling me the extended version of how you met. I'm glad to see all my chivalry training has paid off."

"Stop now, you'll give me a swollen head. Dad's back with the wine and he says dinner is ready."

We got up and sat down at the table. Eric and Peter had set the table and put the food out. It smelled amazing. As the guest of honour, I got to regale everyone with tales of Bon Temps and Kyoto. Elsie and Peter were both incredibly kind and welcoming and I found myself liking them both more and more with each passing moment. When we were done eating, we went and sat in the living room.

Eric and I curled up on the loveseat that Elsie and I had shared earlier and he pulled my feet into his lap.

"Do you have any thing you'd like to do while you're here Sookie? I'd like to take you shopping for an afternoon sometime this week." Elsie lit up at the idea of shopping. That was certainly one thing we had in common.

"Well I'd like to go see Oslofjord, and the beach. I would love to see whatever you'd like do show me though, and I'd never turn down shopping for clothes I can fit into." I laughed. "Honestly, I'm just glad to get out of Kyoto for a bit. Its so hot there right now, its pretty unbearable."

"Yes, we certainly don't have that problem here. Eric, you should both meet me for lunch after my class on Tuesday."

"Sure. We'll have you over for dinner a night as well. I don't suppose you want to cushion the blow from the Pam meeting? You could all come over on the same night."

Elsie laughed. "I don't think I'm in any position to be cushioning any blows with Pam. We had a bit of a run in when her mother had us both over for tea last week to discuss a baby shower."

Eric rolled his eyes. "Mom, you can't be picking fights with her. Do you know how hard I've worked to keep things amicable with her? I didn't want to give her any excuses to be a bitch."

"She was just acting so entitled. I couldn't stand it. Her mother is in total denial about the whole lesbian thing. She made some mention about your very final break up being a lover's spat and Pam didn't even correct her. All I said was that it was a bit more than a simple lover's spat and then made mention that Sookie was going to be here for the month and that if we have it in August that we will invite her, since she's important to you and its your baby too."

"Mom, that's not going to help things." Eric shook his head.

"Well if she has any problems, she can come and talk to me." Elsie turned her nose up. The lioness was coming out. "If she's anything but polite to Sookie, then she's going to have to deal with me too. She is in no position to think she has any control over you."

"I know she isn't. I totally agree with you, but I did play a part in this as well. Its not as though she tricked me into this or anything."

"Anyway, I don't want to talk about her anymore. I will unconditionally love your child, but I don't have to love her."

"On that note, I think we are going to head home. Mom, I'll call you about lunch tomorrow." He got up and gave her a hug. "I know you are trying to defend me, but I know how to handle Pam."

"Goodnight and thanks for dinner." I waved as Eric practically pulled me out the door.

We got out to the car and sat in the driveway for a moment. "I'm sorry about that. Mom and Pam have been rubbing each other the wrong way for years. This really made it worse."

"Its ok. I didn't think this was all going to go smoothly. I just hope you are both able to keep things civil."

"You and me both Lover, you and me both."

I awoke the next morning to the most delicious smell. I had felt Eric get up a little while earlier, but when I started to move, he told me to sleep in a bit. After a few minutes, the smell became too much and I had to get up. I grabbed a dress shirt from his hamper and headed downstairs.

I almost died when I saw the breakfast spread on the table. Eric was standing over the stove in lounge pants and nothing else. The smell and his gorgeous chest made me want to drool. "Eric, did you make all this?"

"I did, and let me just say, you look extraordinary in my shirt. It makes me want to have you for breakfast." He waggled his eyebrows at me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here you have it, the next chapter. This one is a little short, but there will be another one coming very soon, I promise. Thanks for all the review love, and keep it coming!**

***

Eric

"Well first things first." She pluked herself down and filled a plate with fresh fruit, smoked salmon and cream cheese, and French toast. "I didn't know you were such a fantastic cook."

"Breakfast is my speciality." And it was. I had been cooking breakfast since I was 6 years old. My Dad and I both loved to cook. It was something we'd always done together, whenever he was home from business.

I put together a plate and brought Sookie over a glass of tea and myself a coffee. We sat there together and made plans for the day, which involved going to the beach and going to see a movie. I kind of wanted to get the Pam introduction out of the way so neither of us would have to think about it. Even if it was a disaster, which my mother had almost ensured it would be, then we could deal with that. It was the unknown that was a bit disconcerting. I was most impressed when Sookie suggested the same thing.

"Let's rent a movie and maybe you can schedule something with Pam for later this afternoon. I kind of want to just get it over with."

"I was just thinking the same thing. I'll call her and she if she's free after dinner." I put on my bravest face. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Who was I kidding, it was going to be awful. I walked over to the phone and dialed her cell.

"Pam, Sookie is in town and we were wondering if you would like to," I paused. Have a coffee? No. A drink? Certainly not. Dinner? Too much of a commitment if it didn't go well. "get together this evening." That worked. Now the onus would be on her to set the terms. "Yes, we can walk over to your place. How's six? Ok, we will see you then." I hung up. She sounded in better spirits than the last time we spoke.

"So six it is." I plastered on my phoniest smile and Sookie laughed.

"Don't look too excited there. I'll put on my finest southern belle act. I promise."

"Honestly Lover, I must warn you that she's been much bitchier than usual. She's still a bit sick and I'm sure Mom egging her on last week has her on the defensive. She sounded ok on the phone though, so maybe she's having a good day."

"I'm sure it will be fine Eric. Lets not worry about it being too awful until it actually is."

She had a point. I hoped that Pam would just put on her nicest face and things would go without a hitch. "That sounds like a plan. What time do you want to go to the beach?"

She polished off the last piece of French toast. I loved watching her eat. "Maybe around lunch time? We can pick up some food and take it with us." She got up and I was instantly rock hard at the the sight of her in my shirt. My inner caveman took over and I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. "You in that shirt. We go upstairs now."

She laughed and pounded on my back. "Put me down!" I started to lower her. "I meant once we get to the bed silly." I carried her up the stairs and dumped her on the bed, and then threw myself down beside her. Having her in my bed was fucking amazing. The bedroom set was the first thing I replaced when Pam moved out. The last thing I wanted to think about while I was in bed was that Pam and god knows who else in it too. A fresh start in bed was just what I needed, in more ways than one. I pulled her on top of me and began unbuttoning my shirt. This was even more perfect than I had imagined it, when I imagined her in my house. I pulled myself up and sat against the headboard with her straddling my lap. I moved my hands to her perfect breasts, palming them as I pulled her in for a kiss. She picked herself up and slowly lowered herself on to me. I moaned, as she took me to the hilt, and we just sat there, her hands on my face, as she kissed my mouth, my cheeks, my forehead. We both revelled in just being together for a simple moment. Slowly we started, moving together, until we both reached our release, her finishing first, which set me off every time, without fail. Since we'd been here, our sex had transformed into a series of incredibly intimate moments, with none of the urgency that we usually had. It was amazing to have what seemed like an endless stream of days ahead of us, with very few obligations.

We lay there, for about an hour, before we pulled ourselves out and got in the shower. We lazily got dressed.

I looked over, after pulling on my swim trunks and a t-shirt, to see Sookie pulling on the polka dot bikini from our first night together. "That looks familiar. I don't know how I resisted you in that. In fact, I'm not sure I'll be able to show the same restraint now."

She laughed. "I don't think you were in any position to do anything that night. And if you had, I may not have been here today. I'm a lady after all." She winked. "Third date counts as a lady right?"

"Lover, you are every bit a lady. Especially in that." I pouted as she pulled on a pink sundress.

"You can see it again when we get to the beach." She threw a couple of towels in a canvas bag and grabbed my hand and pulled me down the stairs. "I love the beach. I haven't been since I left the states. Tanning on my tiny deck or at the park just hasn't been the same."

"I haven't been to the beach yet this summer either. I've been away a lot." I winked at her and we hopped in my car. We stopped at a grocery store and picked up some sushi of all things and headed to the beach.

When we got there, we weaved our way through families and women tanning until we came to sit in a place that Sookie deemed the perfect spot. We ate our sushi and we both laid out in the sun, taking in the ocean air and sun.

After a few hours and a few dips in the very cool ocean, the sun started getting lower in the sky, and we decided to head for home. On the way to our car, I noticed a photographer and rolled my eyes as he snapped a shot as I opened the door for Sookie.

"What's wrong?"

"You've officially arrived Lover. Amelia will be able to google you tomorrow."

"Are you really that exciting?"

"Not really, but Pam is." I rolled my eyes. "Her father is a very well-known and often scandalized politician and her mother is an obnoxious socialite from very old money. I've been dragged along with her for years now. My family is from pretty new money, but they travel in some of the same circles."

"Fun. I guess I should have thrown my dress back on. I'm really not tanned enough to want my body in a bikini anywhere."

"Don't be silly. You look amazing. We'll probably just be a blip on the society page. Mom always saves the clippings. She thinks its hilarious. Now, if Pam was with us, it would be a total scandal. Besides," I looked her up and down, sitting on my leather seats in her bikini, "at least we will have already seen Pam by the time this hits the newsstands." Sookie looked like a million bucks. Mom was going to love this.

We went home and made spaghetti together, still in our swimwear from earlier. Standing in a normal sized kitchen, chopping vegetables, boiling water, bantering back and forth, was something I could get used to.

We sat down and ate, and I couldn't help but notice that Sookie got quite quiet.

"Is everything all right?"

She put her fork down and look at me. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

I got up and kneeled by her feet, taking her hands. "Honestly Lover, I don't care what she thinks of you. I know how I feel and I think that you do too. I want you around, so it really doesn't matter how Pam feels about you. Just be yourself, and we will deal with the fallout together."

"I know, its just that you've known her forever. You've only known me a few months."

I thought for a minute, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Sookie, she practically destroyed me. I know it seemed like we met and everything was fine, but honestly, after what she did, it took a long time for me to really heal from it. I'm probably still not 100 per cent over the damage she caused. You turned it around for me. If I hadn't met you that day, I'd probably still be wallowing in a cloud of self pity. I built my life around her, around a lie she told me every day. That life is over for me and, with you, I feel like we've started to build something new, completely new. Our child will be a part of that, because I am an honourable man, or at least I like to think I am, but it will be Pam's decision how much of a role she is allowed to play. If she wants to be awful to you, then, as I've told her, then she's going to forfeit the already fragile friendship that we still have."

"Thanks Eric." She wrapped her arms around my neck.

"For what? For subjecting you to an evening with my baby momma?"

She laughed. "Just for being you. I don't know what I did to deserve someone so wonderful. Even in this very uncomfortable situation, you know exactly what to say."

"Well I wish I could say that we could take this upstairs or something witty like that, but we really should head over there. Remember, it will be like ripping off a band-aid. Punctuality is of the utmost importance to Pam, so we shouldn't give her the chance to bitch about that."

"Ok, lets go get dressed then." We stomped up the stairs and we both pouted as we watched each other change. I pulled on old jeans and a t-shirt.

"Eric, what should I wear?" What was proper attire for meeting your lover's lesbian baby momma?

"I have no idea. Don't worry about it."

She picked up a pair of jeans, a tank top and a cardigan. "That's perfect. But I'm a little biased."

She looked at me as she pulled her jeans on. "Oh? How so?"

"Because I pretty much think everything you do is perfect." I shrugged. "Blinded by the love I suppose."

"You are too sweet. Ok, let's get this over with." She grabbed my hand and we headed out the door.

We walked for about ten minutes until we landed in front of a large brick loft building. Pam's condo had all the possible amenities and upgrades available. We'd found the only available one in the neighbourhood, which was lucky. I guess. I checked my watch. It was 5:55pm. Perfect timing.

"Do I hug her?" Sookie asked in the elevator.

"She'll hug me. Just play it by ear." I squeezed her hand. I knocked and Pam shouted to come in. Great, she wasn't coming to the door. Not a good way to start the visit.

I smiled weakly at Sookie and lead her through the kitchen and into Pam's living room. She rose to hug me. "Hey you."

"Hey. Pam this is my girlfriend Sookie. Sookie this is my, well, Pam."

Pam wasn't hugging. She smiled a most phoney smile. "Lovely to meet you." She sat herself down on the couch, making an exaggerated effort to look uncomfortable.

We sat there, quiet for a moment, while Pam sized Sookie up. I decided it was time to break the silence. "How are you feeling Pam?"

"Fat and unattractive. You?" I shot her a look. "I mean, how was your flight?" She looked at Sookie for an answer.

"It was long, but I slept for most of it."

"Are you enjoying Eric's house?" I shot her another look. I knew what she was getting at, even if Sookie didn't.

Sookie again had the perfect answer. "Yes, he said that you decorated it. You have wonderful taste. This place is beautiful too."

"Pam, can I get you a drink or anything?" Since she wasn't offering, I thought I might as well. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

"I'm fine." No help yourself, no nothing. Great.

"Pam, may I use your washroom?" Sookie asked most politely.

"Its around the corner and down the hall." She pointed her in the right direction.

I sat down, giving Pam a look that she knew meant business. "Can't you just be nice, just for a little bit? She's lovely, you can't argue that."

"Eric, I'm just not up for this."

"Up for what Pam?" She was so impossible sometimes. She'd been up for this this morning.

"Up for any of this. Up for seeing you flaunt some curvy, blond, perfect girl in my face when I'm stuck here, getting fat and unattractive. There. I said it. I feel like shit all the time, your mother is being a royal bitch, my mother thinks we are going to get back together any day, and you aren't around. You've moved on and I am unable to, because of my condition. A condition that's not going to get any better, even once I have this baby. I'm miserable here, and you're off taking your girlfriend to the beach and jetsetting here and there." She hissed the last bit.

"Pam, I don't know what to say. I didn't force you to have this baby. As you'll recall, our timing wasn't opportune for either of us. I haven't abandoned you, I've been to nearly every doctor's appointment. Yes, I've gone on with my life, but you made your decisions, we made our bed but we each have to lie in our respective spots. Maybe we should go."

"Maybe you should." We both looked at each other, hard.

Sookie emerged from the hallway, her eyes wide at the sight of our visual staredown.

"Lover, Pam's not feeling well. We should get going."

"Ok. Pam, it was nice to meet you."

She rolled her eyes."Yep. Bye."

I put my arm around her back and led her out the door, looking back at Pam and shaking my head.

We walked home in silence. Again, I got to be the first to speak. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Pretty much all of it. At least its really not about me at all. Its about us. Not that that's better, but at least I didn't do anything personally." She shrugged.

"She'll be fine once she has the baby, at least that's what I keep telling myself. Maybe I should look into making up some sort of visitation arrangement with her before the baby is born, so she sees that she will get some time to herself. I don't know, I don't think anything I say at this point is going to be the right thing." I laughed. "And to think, before all this happened, she was thrilled that I was moving on, so she wouldn't have to feel guilty."

"I guess its hard for us to put ourselves in her shoes. She's undergone some massive changes in the past few months, with coming out and being pregnant."

Sookie was being far more considerate and giving Pam far more credit than I was. "I guess so, but so have you and I, and we aren't being nearly so impossible."

"Neither of us have a tiny human wreaking havoc on our emotions though."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello again! Here's the next chapter. I would have posted it earlier, but I wasn't sure what was going on with FF, since I wasn't getting any email updates. Thanks for all the great feedback and I hope you like this one! I am also looking for baby names for the story if anyone has any great suggestions!**

***

Sookie

After our brief visit with Pam, we didn't talk about her much. I noticed later that week that Eric moved the photos in the box in his office to the garage.

I didn't really know what to make of our visit. I was glad she didn't hate me personally, it was really just the situation, and there was nothing that anyone could do about that at this point. We went out for lunch with Eric's mom a bit later in the week at a lovely traditional Norwegian restaurant near the university she was teaching at. She asked about our meeting and Eric just said he didn't want to talk about it. She shot me a look and I just shrugged my shoulders and asked about the course she was teaching. We made plans to go shopping next week and changed the subject. She pulled my first clipping out of her purse a little bit later and I was relieved to see that I didn't look too pale, since the photo was in black and white. I was just called Eric Northman's mystery woman, which wasn't too bad. I was afraid I'd have homewrecker or worse written under my picture. Elsie explained that the tabloids had taken Eric's side for the most part, after Pam had been touted as a bit of a homewrecker for her numerous affairs with married socialites. Yet another reason for her to be bitter.

After a week and a half of avoiding the small, blond, pregnant elephant in the room, I finally broke.

"I think you need to go over and talk to her. I'll stay here." We were curled up on the couch, watching the extended version of the second Lord of the Rings movie. I loved them, but we'd both already seen them multiple times.

"I don't have anything to say to her."

"I think you have lots of things to say to her, and I think you need to say them, so you just go and say them." I hated to see him so burdened. He needed to be ok with her, because they were going to have to be civil for at least the next 18 years.

Eric sighed and moved my feet off of his lap. "Fine. If I'm not back in an hour, then its safe to assume that she's turned me to stone with the snakes in her hair."

"See you in a bit." He rolled his eyes at me, and kissed my forehead as he headed out the door.

I dozed off on the couch for a bit and came to when I heard two voices come into the house. I looked down at my completely inappropriate outfit of an old pair of Eric's boxers and a tank top and shook my head and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I wasn't even wearing a bra for christs sake. He couldn't have called to give me some warning?

Pam and Eric walked into the living room and Pam sat down in the armchair across from me. Eric sighed and shot me a pained look. "I'm going to go for a drive. I'll be back in a half hour. Pam, if you fuck this up, seriously, I don't know." He shook his head and I felt a lump in my throat as I heard his car pull out of the driveway.

Pam turned to me, once she was sure he was gone. "Let me start this by saying that I'm sorry. If you knew me better, you'd know that's not something I say very often. I don't know why I was such a bitch the other day. That's a lie actually, I know exactly why."

"Oh?" Why the hell had Eric left me alone with her? Was he high? Had she drugged him?

"Its because I don't know how to be around him anymore, and you by default, since you are with him. Its like I've been lying to him for so many years, that I can't even stick with my own truth, when I didn't even have the guts to tell him myself. I had to wait for him to walk in on me face down in someone I didn't even like. Now is that anyway to treat someone you care about? He deserved a bit of honesty from me. Five months ago, I had a loyal, loving, fucking gorgeous fiancee, three girlfriends on the side, this gorgeous home, the respect of my parents, everything. Last month, I almost thought of telling that I wanted to get back together, just so things could go back to the way they were, with him at least. Now tell me that's not a little crazy."

That was more than a little crazy. "Pam, I'm not sure why you're telling me any of this."

"Because I need you to know that this is all about me. It's all my shit. Eric really is the real deal. He's fucking amazing. I wish I could have been what he thought I was. I do want him to be happy, somewhere deep down in my gut, I just don't know how to deal with him being happy, when I feel like my life has fallen apart. For so long, our lives were so tightly intertwined together. He was mine and I should have let him go a long time ago, but I'm selfish."

"Pam, I just want us to be able to be civil. I love him, and you need to know that I don't take his relationship with you lightly. When I decided to keep seeing him, after I called you that night, I knew that you and this one." I pointed to her stomach. "were part of the package. I know you are still important to him, and I accept that. I understand that this is all a lot for you. I told him that when we left your house the other night. I know we aren't going to magically ok, but all I want is for us to be able to agree to work on it."

"Then I will agree to that. I know he loves you too. He's furious with me at the moment, for the other day."

"How did you convince him to leave you alone with me? He didn't seem very happy about it."

She smiled, the first genuine smile I'd seen from her. "I reminded him of how well our phone conversation had worked out for him."

"I guess that was a big risk that paid off."

"Yea, that was really ballsy. I liked you after that you know, even if I have a very bad way of showing it."

We chatted for a few more minutes, talking about what pregnancy was like, how her masters degree was going, how I was enjoying Japan. It turned out she was a big fan of Kyoto, so we had something to talk about there. Sure we were pretty opposite, but we did have someone very important to both of us in common. I'd make the effort, as long as she made some effort as well.

When Eric returned, exactly 30 minutes after he left, he actually sighed in relief when he walked in the room and saw that we both had all our hair intact and weren't in tears.

He came and sat down beside me, grabbing my hand and looked at Pam. "Did you say what you wanted to say?"

"I did, and I owe you an apology too. I do want you to be happy Eric, I know I really do, but I just don't know how. I'll figure it out though. Its up to me to figure it out. You have quite the girl here too, and what a rack. Did Elsie show you those pictures from the paper yet? Is she still saving them."

Eric nodded and I blushed and folded my arms over my chest. What the hell was it with my rack? "Thanks, I think."

"I should get home. I'd like to have you both for dinner, if you'd like to come before you go. I'm not much of a cook. Eric always did the cooking." She looked a little sad. "Maybe I can order in."

"We'd love to Pam. Give us a call when you'd like to do it." I smiled at her as she slowly got up. That was a serious baby in there, and she still had 4 months to go.

Eric smiled at me, looking relaxed for the first time since the last time we'd seen Pam. "Do you want a drive home?"

"Thanks, but I'd like the walk. I need to start planning how I'm going to get this baby weight off." Pam hardly had any baby weight on, just a little round belly.

"Atta girl. Before you know it, you'll be the hottest MILF on the playground." He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes, but smiled back.

"Night you two."

"Bye Pam."

As soon as we both heard the door shut, Eric wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me hard. "I got in my car and realized that was a terrible idea. Hormonezilla really convinced me that you both needed to reach an understanding on your own terms. I'm really sorry."

"It actually went ok. Yes, she is a little crazy right now, but I think most of it can be chalked up to hormones, and how fucking perfect you are, which I wouldn't argue with her on for a minute. I think she's having a hard time letting go, even though she knows its for the best for both of you. You will have to work out things with her when it comes to your child, but her and I are fine."

"Well, that's a start then. So, I have a little proposal for you."

"Oh?"

"Will you come for Christmas? After your school closes, or whenever you can get the time off? I've promised the two of them, Mom and Pam, that I'd be here, and I want to be here when the baby is born, and it would mean so much if you were here too. I'll buy you the ticket for Christmas."

"Of course. I'd love to come, but I should pay for part of the ticket. I know how expensive they are."

"Don't be silly. Do you know how many frequent flyer miles we have banked? I insist."

"Well then, if you insist, then I'm not going to fight you over it. I've never had a really snowy Christmas. And the baby will be here! Yea, I wouldn't miss that for anything." He grinned up at me. "So when is the official due date?"

"December 17th. So exactly four months from tomorrow." His eyes went wide at the thought. "Four months."

"That's lots of time." No it wasn't. Who was I kidding? "Are you going to make one of the rooms upstairs into a nursery?"

"I guess so, I mean, I guess I'll have to. I don't even know what goes in a nursery." He shook his head.

"You'll figure it out. I'm sure your Mom would help you get it all together. We can go, if you want, while I'm here too."

"That would be really great." Eric was starting to look a little overwhelmed, so I sat down and pulled him down onto the couch with me.

"Its all going to be ok, you know. You'll have lots of help. I'm sure every new father has no idea what they are doing."

"I hope you're right." He smiled weakly at me.

A couple of days later, I went shopping with Elsie. Eric and his Dad had a conference call with someone in Hong Kong, so we drove over to their house and then Elsie and I took her car to a lovely outdoor shopping area at the city center.

"So how was your visit with Pam? I know Eric didn't really want to talk about it." I knew she was going to ask me, as soon as Eric dismissed it last week.

"Well the first one was terrible, but the second one went much better. We are going to go for dinner at her place sometime before I leave."

"After the first time, you went back for seconds? That's brave of you. She's really not a bad girl, just very terribly self-centered. I hope that motherhood will cure her of that."

"I'm sure it will. I think its just all a lot for her to deal with." We wandered through H&M, which was exactly my price range. "This stuff is great, and so affordable."

"Yea, I get a lot of things from here. But don't tell the society page that, they'd string me up." She laughed. "So tell me, has Eric asked you to come for Christmas yet? I know he was planning on it before you even came, but I think he got thrown off track by Pam."

"Yea, he asked me a couple of nights ago, after things got a bit sorted out with her. I, of course would be thrilled to be here. Its a very exciting time and I've never had a white Christmas."

"Well, it will certainly be a white one here. Its a lot of snow, and I'm from the great white north. We'd love to have you. You'll have to email me your favourite things to eat again."

"And the baby will be here. Eric's going to need some help getting a nursery together. I told him I'd help out while I was here."

"Yea, I will help out too. I'm sure things will come together. He's got a great support system, between you and us."

"Yea, he does. I think he'll be a great dad, even if he's not sure about it yet."

"I know he will." She smiled. "So Eric mentioned that you have a home in Louisiana. Do you plan to go back there when you finish teaching?"

"No. I don't really have much of a plan for after. My contract is up in January, so I'm going to have to start thinking about it though. I could sign another contract, but then I'd be committed for another year. My brother had an offer on the house, so I need to start thinking about that. I really have no intentions on going back, even if I returned to the states, but its been in our family for a couple of hundred years."

"Can you rent it out? I still own my family home in Toronto, but I have a property management company take care of it."

"I guess that's something to consider. I keep missing Jason when I call, so when I get him I'll see what he thinks. Its no good just standing empty. He helps with it, but he has our parent's house, so it really is mine. I just don't want it to fall apart while I'm gone."

"Eric would kill me for asking, but have you given any thought to moving here when you are done your contract? I could probably help you get into a Master's program here. There are lots of exchange students and lots of programs in English."

I sighed. "I really do like it here, I, well, I just worry about making long term plans, since we've known each other for such a short amount of time. I worry about bringing it up, when he has so much else on his mind, with Pam and the baby. I feel like me bringing up moving here in might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Maybe in time it will feel like the right time."

"I don't think he'd see it that way. You've been a great source of strength for him, through all of this. Its living through difficult situations like this that make a relationship strong, no matter how much actual time you've spent together."

"I know, and I do feel like we are in a really great place, in spite of everything else. Even long distance doesn't seem like that much of a big deal, because its with him."

"Well just don't not do what feels right because you are worried about timing." I went to pay for my armload of purchases, but Elsie shooed me away. "I insist."

After a few hours, we headed back over to her house, to find Eric and Peter having some beer in the backyard. After a few minutes of listening to a very silly conversation about some kind of tuna, Elsie shot me a knowing look. They were both completely drunk.

"So I guess that was a pretty quick call to Hong Kong Pete?" She went over and sat on the arm of his chair. He immediately pulled her into his lap and gave her a huge kiss.

"Didyou have fun shopping El? Hi Sookie. Wouldya like a beer?" He was holding on to Elsie for dear life, as she playfully tried to squirm out of his lap.

Eric looked over at me, shaking his head at his Dad's amorous advances towards his Mom. "Yousee what I have to deal with?" He smirked at me. "I think you should drive home." The slur in his words concurred. I had gotten my international driver's licence when I moved to Japan, just in case I ever had the need to drive, but I really wasn't very comfortable driving on the other side of the road. "Bye folks."

Eric's dad muttered something in her ear and waved and Elsie rolled her eyes. "See you two later this week. I'll have that beer another time Peter." My heart sunk a little, remembering that I only had one more week. I led Eric out to his car, and strapped him in. "You really want to to drive your baby?"

"I trust you. Just go slow though."

"How much did you have to drink?"

"Six or eight. Maybe ten. We closed a deal in Hong Kong and the beer just disappeared. Dad really likes you."

"Well I really like him, and your Mom. She wouldn't let me buy anything. She insisted on paying."

"She likes you too. You're pretty likeable Lover." He leaned over and whispered in my ear. "And pretty fuckable, especially in this car. Maybe drive a little faster."

"Eric, don't distract me!" I smacked him in the arm.

"Why don't you pull over, Lover, and let me distract you properly."

I almost dismissed him completely, but the lusty look in his eyes made me reconsider. "What if someone pulls over and thinks we're broken down or something?"

"Take the first right up here, then go left. Its a dead end. I'll make it worth your while." He waggled his eyebrows and me I followed his directions and we came to a dead end street, with no homes in visible sight.

"I can't believe I agreed to this. What are we, 16? We have a proper bed ten minutes aw...Mmmmm..." I moaned as Eric unbuckled my seatbelt, moved his hands up my dress and under my bra, teasing my instantly hard nipples.

"Why don't you come over here, Lover." Eric hit the release lever on his seat, reclining back. I squealed as he pulled me over the center console, stabbing me in the butt with the gear shift. He pulled me close to him, which was necessary, since it was a very small car, and rubbed his hands along the back of my dress, and I felt him grow hard as he lowered my underwear, leaving them around my ankle. He kept his eyes on my face the entire time. He looked a bit hazy, but completely in control, as he slowly inserted two fingers into me, causing my breath to hitch, as he stroked me lazily. "I told you I'd make it worth your while."

Words escaped me, as he used his entire hand to bring me to an earth shaking orgasm. As soon as I could function again, I reached between us and unzipped his pants. I slowly slid myself onto him, as he let out a moan. "Fuck Sookie." He ran his fingers through my hair as we moved together, his feet braced under the dash. He held my eye contact the entire time, watching my facial expressions and replaying the movements that got the most reaction. I tried to do the same, but he kept beating me to it. He smirked at me, as I completely lost it and came again, screaming out his name. He followed my lead, arching his back in the seat as he pushed into one final time. We lay there for a few minutes, completely spent.

"Lover, I think that that was fucking spectacular. Now there's no way I'm going to be able to get rid of this car. I'll have to get a second."

"That was, wow." I moved myself over to the driver's seat and replaced my underwear. "Sorry, I need a minute before I can drive."

"I like having that effect on you." He winked at me. "I don't want you to go. I missed you when you were gone for five hours this afternoon."

"I know. I'll see you at the end of September though, sometime in November, and then I'll be here for Christmas." This would have been a good time to bring up further into the future, but I didn't want to have this conversation when he was drunk.

After a couple of minutes, my head was clear enough to drive, and I slowly made my way to Eric's house. I looked over at him, and after about ten minutes, he'd passed out in the passenger seat. I laughed, thinking that I'd have to leave him there, because there was no way I was going to be able to get him in the house on my own.

I carefully pulled into his garage, and gave myself a pat on the back for my first European driving adventure, both in the driving and the fucktastic time we'd just had. I pushed on Eric's shoulder, trying to rouse him. "Eric, we're home. Time to go inside." He mumbled something incoherent, as I opened the car door and shook him a little more. "Come on silly." After poking him for ten minutes or so, I was finally able to wake him up enough that he could at least help me get him inside. I laid him out on the couch and went to pick out a movie. I finally settled on Lost in Translation, which I had, oddly enough, never seen. I smiled most of the way through it, partly due to the giant man passed out on the couch, and partly because I knew exactly what the characters in the movie were experiencing. Every once and a while Eric would mumble something.

When the movie was finished, I crawled off the loveseat and went over and kissed his cheek. He rolled over and kissed my mouth. "Eric, do you want some water or anything?"

"I just want you. I want you to stay with me." He pulled me onto the couch with him, squeezing me tightly.

"I am here silly, I've been here all night."

"I don't mean like that." He mumbled. "I mean I want you to stay here with me. I love having you here and I don't want you to leave."

"We'll talk about this when you are in better shape. Let me get you some water." I wriggled out of his grasp and went to the kitchen, wiping an errant tear from my eye. I wished I knew with certainty that he'd feel this way when he wasn't drunk. I felt like I belonged here, like I had fit myself into a puzzle I'd been working on forever. I didn't want him to feel forced into anything though, I wanted him to ask me. He had so little control over so many things, it seemed unfair to invite myself any further into his life than I already was, unless it was what he wanted.

I brought the glass of water back after a few minutes and Eric pulled me into his arms again. We slept on the couch, until about 3am, when I woke up damp and sweaty from the leather. I pulled myself out of his grasp.

"Eric, come on, lets go upstairs." He mumbled a bit more and let me help him upstairs. I pulled off his jeans and sweater and tucked him him and went to brush my teeth. I crawled in beside him and a strong arm automatically wrapped around my waist.


	11. Chapter 11

**Here you have it...the next chapter! This one is a bit angsty, but I have the next one written, so you won't have to wait too long to see what's going to happen! Keep the reviews coming!**

***

Eric

When I awoke around noon, and instinctively reached for Sookie, she was gone. I pulled myself up and willed the massive headache I had developed away. Dad and I hadn't gotten that drunk, probably since I graduated university a few years back. I grabbed a glass of water, that I assumed Sookie had left me, off of the bedside table and downed it. He was in the mood to celebrate though, he had been working on the client in Hong Kong for the past six months. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and went searching for the one who'd nursed me back to life so many times. I found her on the deck, in a new navy blue and white striped bikini, laying out in the sun.

"Oh, I see you decided to join the living." She smiled up at me, removing her sunglasses. "I made you an omlet. Its in the oven on warm. I also put on your coffee about an hour ago, so I guess it will be super potent now."

I kneeled down beside her, the sun hurting my eyes. After about five seconds, I collapsed, my back against the patio door. "All I remember is you in the car and then waking up in bed."

"What about me in the car, exactly?" She gave me a knowing grin and I gave it right back.

"Oh, I remember everything in the car. That is, unless you want to go give me a refresher."

"Maybe go get some breakfast in you first, and then we'll talk." She smiled at me, and went back to her tanning. I went in, got my breakfast and a giant coffee and went back out to join her on the deck, sitting back down against the patio door.

"How did you get me in the house? I don't remember that part." I took a bite of omlet. "This is brilliant."

"You helped me a little. I not only got you upstairs, I got you into the living room, where you mumbled and moaned for hours to yourself, and then got you in your bed."

"Impressive. This sludge coffee is just what I needed."

"You should be happy that I made coffee. I don't even know how. I'm a tea drinker"

"Well, operating a French press is no easy feat. Kudos Lover, kudos."

She sat up and moved beside me, her leg against mine. "So I talked to Jason this morning, about the house."

"Oh? Did you make any decisions?"

"Well your mom had the good idea to see if I could rent it, for the time being. It would be hard to sell it, its been in the family for so long. I'm not going back, but a part of me wants to hold onto it, for now anyway. So Jason's friend Hoyt is going to rent it, for reduced rent, and a promise to maintain it."

"Wow, real estate deals and omlets, all before I could haul my ass out of bed. You had a productive morning." I felt like doing a victory dance, but saw it resulting in a heap of vomit on my back yard. The house being rented was a sign that she really wasn't planning to go back to Louisiana. Now, to somehow convince her to move to Oslo and stay forever. That was going to be the tricky part.

"Yea, I feel really good about it. It's nice not to have to worry about someone breaking in or it falling apart. I've known Hoyt forever and I know he'll take good care of the place. And a few hundred bucks a month should pay the property taxes. If I ever need the money, I can sell it, but I don't really need it now."

"I'm proud of you. I know that's been a hard decision to make."

"Your mom was a huge help. I hadn't even thought that we might know someone who wanted to live there. Jason said that Hoyt almost kissed him when he offered. He's too old to be living with his momma."

"Everyone wins then." Me included? I just needed to figure out how to make it happen.

We spent the rent of the day lazing around. Sookie worked on her tan, while I worked on purging the alcohol from my system through drinking excessive amounts of water and a mid-afternoon McDonalds run.

The next night we had my parents over for dinner. Mom insisted on bringing some of their artwork over, claiming that my place was too sparse and that Dad's clutter drove her nuts. Luckily she had some that matched quite well. I shot her a look when she brought a few things that Sookie had mentioned that she liked when we were over there and she just shrugged at me. Sookie made crab cakes and lobster etouffee, since crawfish weren't really available here. I made a salad to go along with it. Mom and Dad raved over it and I was really impressed. It was delicious.

We went over to Pam's a couple of nights before Sookie was leaving, for pizza, since Pam was still claiming she couldn't cook. I knew otherwise, but knew Pam felt a bit inferior in the kitchen so I let it go. We arrived right at 7, as per Pam's request.

This time she actually came to the door. "Hi guys. Come on in, the pizza should be here shortly. We walked into the living room and Pam went into the kitchen, emerging with two glasses of wine for us, and a glass of water for her. "I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't dying for a glass of that. Four more months Ravenscroft, four more months."

"How are you feeling?" I asked, smiling over at her. I was so glad that she was making a bit of an effort.

"I'm feeling like I'll be glad when no one asks me that anymore." She smiled. "I'm ok. I have an ultrasound in a couple of weeks if you want to come."

"Sure. Do you have the pictures from the last one?" She went into the kitchen and got out an envelope, handing them over to me.

"You can actually tell what it is now. Look, there's the spine, and a little foot."

Sookie leaned over to see. "Wow, its amazing how much you can see. Is he or she kicking yet?"

"I thought I felt something the other day, but I wasn't sure." The door buzzer rang. "Pizza's here. Just a minute." She hopped up and came back with a huge box of amazing smelling pizza. We sat down on the couch and each grabbed a slice.

"Remember when we used to get this pizza in university? Sookie, Eric used to order a whole one to himself when he was drinking, and eat half drunk and use the rest to help him get over his hangover in the morning."

"You should have seen him the other morning. I had to practically carry him upstairs the night before."

They both laughed. "No fair ganging up on me. Dad just kept feeding them to me, what was I going to do?"

"You were cute. Lots of mumbling."

"You did always say the most prolific things like when you were drunk Eric. Remember third year, when we both got so drunk and had sex with that bartender? The one with the tattoos? When she left you mumbled that you thought that I enjoyed being with her much more than you. And I did, but I got so mad at you for saying so."

More laughing. "Yea, thinking back, I don't know why I didn't go with my gut more on that. Anyway, enough about that. I've seen both of you in some pretty compromising positions that I don't think anyone needs reminding of." I looked at Pam, and then at Sookie, who was doing her best to control her laughter.

"This pizza's great. I could probably eat a whole one too, after a few beer." I quietly thanked Sookie for changing the subject. I was pretty sure the last thing she wanted to think about was Pam and I fucking some girl with tattoos, anymore than I really wanted to think about her having incredibly boring missionary sex with Bill.

"So when are you coming back again Sookie?" Pam took the change the subject cue.

"I'll be back at Christmas. Oh, I almost forgot. Since you are having your shower next month, I got you a little something." She pulled out a wrapped present out of her bag. I didn't know she'd picked her up anything. She must have got it when she was out with Mom last week.

"Thanks Sookie." She opened it and a tear ran down her cheek as she pulled out a beautiful soft yellow blanket, lined in pale green printed silk kimono fabric. "Its beautiful."

"I saw it in Kyoto a couple of days before I left, and fell in love with it. Its pretty gender neutral, since you don't know what you are having."

Pam held it close. "Thank you."

I smiled, as I watched my past, present and future coming together in a way I'd never really expected.

When I put Sookie on a plane two days later, I kicked myself for not just asking her to stay. I was terrified that she was going to say no, but a part of me knew that she wouldn't have. The look in her eye at the security gate was all the reassurance I needed.

My mom came over later that evening, to bring me some leftovers and to check in.

"Why did you just let her go?" Of course she knew how I felt. One look at me moping around in my sweatpants and my old Astroboy t-shirt gave it away. Two hours without her and I was already moping. I felt like an angsty teenager.

"I don't know. I was afraid she'd say no, even though part of me knew she wouldn't have."

"I know she wouldn't have." Mom looked smug.

"What do you mean?"

"We talked about it, when we were out shopping. She just didn't want to throw anything else into your already muddled life. You should have asked her. In fact, you should still ask her, before she has to decide about her contract in December. You don't have to convince her of anything, you just have to ask."

I hadn't thought about that. Her signing another contract would mean another year of this. After having her here for three weeks, I didn't think I'd be able to go back to seeing her for a couple of days a month.

"I'm going to do it. Next time I'm there, I'll ask her to stay at Christmas." Saying it out loud and having my very pro-Sookie mother hear me say it would ensure I stuck to it.

"I'll hold you to that. No chickening out, son of mine." She hugged me, as she headed for the door, leaving me some sort of pasta bake comfort food. I ate the whole pan, allowing myself one evening to be angsty.

The next morning, I got up, with new resolve. I called Sookie to make sure she'd arrived home safely, which she had, and put on my nicest jeans and a black button down. I drove downtown, stopping in front of a store which scared the hell out of me. I ordered a beautiful wooden crib, a change table, a dresser, and a bunch of other things that the saleswoman insisted that I needed. She slipped me her number, when she asked where my wife was and I said I wasn't married, but I slipped it back to her. She looked disappointed, but offered me a ten per cent discount for her behaviour, which I didn't take, because she'd been so nice. Instead, she signed me up for free delivery. My order would arrive in a month.

My next stop was a store I'd visited once before, with my Dad when I was a kid. I walked in and was immediately swarmed by a very overzealous saleswoman.

"Aren't you Eric Northman?What can I help you with today?" She eyed me up and down.

"I'd like you to show me what you have in engagement rings."

Her eyes went wide and she looked like she hit the jackpot. I spent the next two hours learning all about diamonds and types of metals, and all of it. I felt lucky that I'd just been able to give Pam Mom's ring. This was a lot of work, and it would have annoyed me, knowing I really didn't want to marry her. I was really into it this time, and after rejecting about 40 of the saleswoman's suggestions, she finally found one that looked like Sookie. After getting assurances that I could return it if it wasn't the ring, I plunked down my credit card.

When I left Cartier, I headed for my parents house.

I walked in and found my Mom in the backyard. She came over to meet me and I handed her the box. "No chickening out."

She smiled broadly and opened the box. "It's beautiful Eric. And Cartier. She'll love it." I stayed for a coffee and smiled, listening to Mom tell me how much she liked Sookie. I also told her that I bought baby furniture and she gave me a huge hug and told me how proud of me she was.

I went home a little while later and thought out some strategy. I would do it at Osaka Castle next time I was there, which would be in three weeks. Now I just had to wait three weeks. I had it all planned out. I would ask her to meet me there, in the spot where we'd first met, only this time with no Bill. I laughed for a moment, thinking of what my reaction would be if Bill did, in fact, show up. It wasn't good, for Bill.

The three weeks crawled by, excruciatingly slow. We talked everyday, usually more than once. I was so excited to see her and propose and it was all I could do to not pop the question over skype.

Pam came over a few days before I left to check out my nursery. She was actually impressed by my decorating skills, which made me feel good. Every time I saw her, she was a little huger, and she told me, with a smile that she'd been to a fortune teller and they'd told her it was a boy. Neither of us had wanted to find out at the ultrasound appointments, but a fortune teller could hardly be considered science. Still though, the idea of a boy had me pretty excited, but a girl would have too. Her baby shower went off without a hitch, with my mother making an extra effort to be kind to her. I went over to see her nursery the day before I left and beamed when I saw Sookie's blanket folded over the side of her crib.

I went to the airport, the little red box carefully tucked in my carry-on luggage. What followed was a series of disasters.

First, my flight was delayed 9 hours, and then there was a typhoon which landed me in Hong Kong for two days, which was where I actually needed to be, the day after I would be able to fly out. I thought about cancelling my business meetings, but came up with a slightly better solution, since the Hong Kong business was new and quite important. I booked her a flight to Hong Kong for two days. She agreed to come, even though she'd only be there for one night and would probably spend more time on a plane than we'd actually spend together.

When I met her at the airport, I'd just finished twelve hours of gruelling negotiations over some very small profit margin, that neither of us were willing to budge on. I'd finally conceded, and was in a bad mood. I didn't want to propose like this. I wanted us to at least have a couple of days to spend together, and I wanted it to have meaning, not be in some tacky hotel in a place that neither of us gave a damn about. I'd book another week in Japan as soon as I got back and do it then. I let my crappy day fade away when I saw her, but I was very annoyed at the universe for not working with me on this one, now that I'd finally decided to go for it.

We spent a wonderful night together, which made it even harder to say goodbye to her a mere twenty-four hours after I'd said hello. My heart ached, watching her once again clear security having not asked her what I was dying to ask. I felt like a total chump.

The earliest I could get back to Japan was two weeks later. I booked the ticket and called my contacts to set up appointments and was able to set one up with a new contact, someone I'd been working quite hard to meet for a couple of years.

I was back in Oslo for four days when everything fell apart.


	12. Chapter 12

**Boy, if I knew I was going to get that kind of response, I would have thrown a good cliffie in earlier! Thanks again for all the reviews, and I'm still looking for a baby name!**

***

Sookie

It was nearly 2am when I was rudely awoken from a lovely dream featuring my favourite viking by my annoying Astroboy ring. I really needed to change that. I saw that the number was from Norway, but wasn't Eric's.

"Sookie, is that you?" Elsie's usually chipper voice sounded pained.

"Yea, is this Elsie? Sorry, I was sleeping, let me turn the light on." I got up and flicked the switch. "How are you?"

"Sookie, I know its 2am there. I'm sorry to call so late, but something's happened. Pam had some complications and, oh, its just awful. They had to deliver the baby."

"But its not due for two and a half months." Way to state the obvious.

"I know, but the complications were too severe. It all just happened so quickly. We would have lost both of them, if they hadn't delivered the baby. Pam's in some sort of induced coma and the baby, he's hooked up to all these machines in an incubator. Eric's a wreck. I know you have work, but can you come? I'll book your ticket out of Osaka."

I didn't even have to think about it. "Yea, I'll come. Of course I'll come. Can you email me the itinerary? I'll pay you back for the ticket." I wasn't in any position to argue with her about paying for it. I'd just taken a month off of work and had been picking up extra shifts to squeeze the most possible time out of my vacation in December.

"Don't be silly. I'll book it on aeroplan points. I'll try and get you one for tomorrow evening, if not sooner. Thanks Sookie. He really needs you."

I called Eric, but his phone was turned off. Of course it would be, since he'd be at the hospital. I had a little cry and then I went to Amelia's room. I knocked and let myself in. I knew she hadn't been asleep long because Tray had just left about an hour ago. I had heard him, sneaking out, trying to be quiet.

"Ames, I have to go. Pam had the baby."

Amelia sleepily pulled herself up, squinting in the light from the door. "But she's not due till mid-December."

"I know, something went wrong and they had to deliver it, I mean him." I hadn't even acknowledged that Elsie had said it was a boy. I had a brief vision of a tiny Eric. Adorable. God, I hoped everything was going to be ok.

"Oh. Do you know how long you'll be gone for?"

"No idea. I'll call when I know more. I guess I'll have to call head office in the morning."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do." Amelia groggily went back to bed.

"Thanks Ames." I went back to my room and packed and tried to get a bit of sleep.

My conversation with head office did not go so well the next morning. I was told if I was going to take a leave for an undetermined amount of time, then they'd have to replace me. I thought about it for about 5 minutes and called them back and told them that that was fine. Mr. Iwasaki apologized profusely when I explained the situation and said that if I was gone for less than two weeks, than he would see what he could do. I thanked him, even though I doubted I'd be back in two weeks.

When I got off the phone, I packed up everything that I needed and boxed the rest for Amelia to mail to me if I didn't come back. Because we were in a furnished apartment, I didn't actually have that much stuff. Mostly clothes and souvenirs. Elsie emailed me my itinerary around 9am, for a 4pm flight. I got a cab to the train and then one to the airport. I tried Eric a couple more times, but I knew he'd think I was working and was probably a bit preoccupied to call me. About twenty minutes before I boarded my flight, he sent me a text saying that he would call me later on tonight. I guess Elsie hadn't mentioned that she'd called me. She probably didn't want to get his hopes up if I got delayed.

After my sleepless night, I snoozed my way through the ten hour flight like a pro. When I got into Heathrow to switch and go to Oslo, I called Elsie, who told me to go to Eric's place, because she was sending him home, since he hadn't left the hospital in three days. She said that things were the same as last night, which was not necessarily a bad thing, but it still meant that Pam and the baby were in rough shape. She insisted that I keep him there for the night and she'd stay with Pam and the baby. I also had another text from Eric, simply saying that he loved me. I dug through my purse and saw that I still had my key from August.

The flight to Oslo served some sort of meal, but I had no idea what time it was when I landed. I got in a cab and arrived at Eric's house around 4pm Norway time. I thought.

When I got there, I let myself in. Eric wasn't there, so I figured that Elsie was waiting for me to be here before she sent him home. I pulled my InStyle magazine from the plane out of my bag, and sat down at the kitchen table to wait for him. I thought back to the last time I'd saw him, as I went through security in Hong Kong. Every time we said goodbye it was a little harder. We never seemed to have enough time.

He arrived about an hour later.

***

Eric

I'd argued with Mom about going home for about an hour, before she finally wore me down. I was exhausted. The last few days, I guess it had been a few days, had been hell. Pam had called me, saying that something was wrong, and by the time I could ask her what, she had passed out and dropped the phone. I drove over, to find her unconscious. After calling the ambulance, I waited with her, terrified after I checked her pulse which was very erratic, until they came and I'd been at the hospital ever since. Pam had regained consciousness for a bit, but hadn't been lucid.

When they came and found me in the waiting room, to tell me that they had to deliver the baby or we would lose both of them, I had to sit down, because I felt like I was going to pass out, and then I when to the bathroom to throw up. Pam was having that effect on me more and more it seemed. When I woke up that morning, if someone had told me that I would have to be a part of that decision, to deliver my child over two months early or lose him and my Pam, I wouldn't have believed them in a million years. After he was born, the fortune teller was right, it was a he, I went down and saw his tiny body, covered in tubes and wires in an incubator. I swear he moved his head and looked at me, his blue eyes fierce with determination.

Visiting hours in the ICU were limited, so most of the past three days had been spent with Pam, who was still unresponsive. They had put her into an induced coma, so her body could begin healing from her massive trauma. It was a bit overkill, her parents, my parents, me, a ton of doctors and nurses, but we all felt a bit better being there.

Mom was right though, there was really nothing I could do at this very moment, and I would be better use to both of them if I had had some sleep. I caught a look at myself in the bathroom mirror earlier and after three days, I looked like the mess I felt like inside. I hadn't showered in days. Dad dropped me off at home, and I wearily let myself in. I'd call Sookie quickly, before I went to sleep. I knew she'd be concerned if she didn't hear from me. I, once again, kicked myself for not just asking her last time I saw her, because now I had no idea when I'd have the chance. If I had, maybe she'd be here now, and I wouldn't feel so alone. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I needed the sleep, but it was going to be hard to be alone tonight, for the first time in days.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Sookie poke her head around the corner. "Eric, you're home." I rubbed my eyes, not convinced that three days without sleep hadn't resulted in a hallucination.

"Are you really here? How...?" She looked like an angel. An angel in yoga pants and a hoodie.

"Your Mom called me. I got here as soon as I could." She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "She also insisted I get you into bed, because you hadn't slept in three days. Come on."

I let her lead me up the stairs, still not entirely convinced that I hadn't gone crazy. I stood there, quite passively, feeling a bit numb, as she undressed me and led me to the shower. "You'll sleep better when you have that hospital smell off of you." I watched, as she washed my hair and searched my face, trying to really understand how I was feeling. If she figured it out, I wished she'd tell me. I was so happy to see her, but pretty much destroyed from the emotional roller coaster that had been on for the last three days.

She then pulled a pair of boxers out of my closet for me, and an old t-shirt for her. She tucked me in, wrapping her arms around me. I nuzzled myself into her. "I'm afraid to go to sleep. I don't want you to be gone when I wake up."

She smiled, leaned over and pinched the inside of my arm, hard. I winced."Ow?"

"You aren't dreaming. I'm really here. Go to sleep." She leaned over and kissed my forehead. After a few minutes, I was out.

I awoke hours later, no idea what time it was, Sookie still sleeping beside me. I took a few minutes to take her in. She must have dropped everything and just left. I had saw that she tried to call me a couple of times in the hospital on my way home, but I'd had my phone off. I smiled when I noticed that she'd pulled on my Astroboy shirt of all things, which was a bit tight on me, but hugged her curves beautifully. I wasn't really sure what I'd done to deserve someone so wonderful, but I really wasn't willing to tempt fate any longer. With everything else that was going on, I needed her to be, as she had been now for so many months, the constant in my life.

I squeezed her to make sure she was really there, got up, went to my closet, tried to do something with my hair, which was in desperate need of a cut, and put on my favourite grey suit.

I poked her a bit. "Sookie, wake up."

She looked at me, like I'd lost my mind. Maybe I had, but I wasn't waiting any more. Three days waiting in waiting rooms had really sent that home. I didn't have the time to wait anymore."Sit up for a minute." She sat up on the bed, and I kneeled beside the bed, reached into the bedside table and pulled out the red box that had sat there for far too long.

"Eric, what are you doing?" She rubbed her eyes. "Why are you wearing a suit? What time is it?"

I shushed her. "Sookie, I decided I wanted to do this the minute I put you on the plane in August, maybe even before that, well actually definitely before that, but I didn't want you to feel like I was moving too quickly. I want you to stay with me, to stay here. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?"

She laughed."Eric Northman, have you lost your mind?"

I opened the box and slid the ring on her finger. "Oh. You are serious. Yes, yes, I'll marry you."

I pulled her to the floor with me, took her head in my hands and kissed her. She laughed. "Its actually a very good thing you asked, because when I told my company I was leaving for an indeterminate amount of time, they said they were going to have to replace me. I may have been able to negotiate, but I really didn't care. I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"I love you. I can't believe you are really here, and I get to keep you." I was grinning like an insane person I'm sure, but I didn't care.

"You sure do. Now, as completely excited as I am, I did promise your mother that I'd get you a good nights sleep, and by my calculations, you've only been sleeping for about four hours. So take that suit off and come back to bed."

"Let me just call the hospital first." I reached over and grabbed my cellphone off the bedside table. I called Pam's room and Mom answered. "Hey, is everything the same?"

"Oh, hey, yea, nothings changed here. You listen to Sookie and go back to sleep. We'll see you in the morning."

"Thanks Mom. We'll be by around 9 to relieve you." I hung up, and took my suit off, leaving it in a pile on the floor. I wrapped my arms around Sookie and drifted back into a deep sleep.

***

Sookie

When I awoke a few hours later, I checked my finger to see if I'd been dreaming. No, there was a very large diamond ring on the proper finger, and a gorgeous, but very tired man, asleep on my chest. I ran my fingers through his blond hair, and felt his chest, which was pushed against my side, rise and fall. After about twenty minutes, I felt him begin to wake, and wrap his arms around me a little tighter. "I still can't believe you are actually here. And you said yes." He mumbled into my chest. "You did say yes, right? Sorry, my fantasies and realities seem to be kind of blurring today.

"I did. I can't believe you got up at 4am, and put on a suit to ask me."

"I had a whole elaborate proposal planned, when I got stuck in Hong Kong. I wanted to propose in Osaka, at the castle where we met. It involved cherry blossoms, ume shu, and okonomiaki. I almost did it in Hong Kong, but I wanted us to have a couple of days together, and that trip was so not special. I was in such a bad mood. I bought the ring the day after you left in August."

I guess Pam was right about his prolific drunk speak. He had told me that he wanted to to stay, and I probably should have reminded him the next morning, but none of that mattered now. "Well, last night was perfect. Completely unexpected, but perfect." I leaned down and kissed his forehead. He pulled himself off of me and got up. "Come here Lover, I want to show you something." He grabbed my hand, pulled me up, and led me to the spare room that was closest to his. He opened the door. I was immediately teary eyed, looking at the amazing nursery I'd just walked into.

"Eric, its perfect. Did you do all of this?" I ran my hands over the marble dragons that we'd picked out in Hong Kong.

"Well, I had some help from the saleswoman, and Mom helped with the paint colours, but yes, I did." I wrapped my arms around him and grinned.

"You were really taking care of business in the last month or so."

"Well, I was, until about three days ago. I feel a bit better knowing you are here though, but this is still, probably the worst thing I could ever imagine happening. I thought I was going to loose both of them Sookie, and I'm still not sure I won't." I saw the same tears I'd seen welling up in his eyes when he'd come in the door last night.

I gave him a little smile and squeezed his hand. "Let's get to the hospital, we should relieve your Mom and Dad, and I want to meet your son."


	13. Chapter 13

**Here you have it, the next chapter! I came up with a name for baby Northman, but it wasn't easy! Thanks for all the fantastic feedback on the last one and keep it coming!**

Sookie

We quickly dressed and headed over to the hospital. We were snapped by a couple of photographers as we went through the revolving door. Eric grabbed my hand and glared at them. "Filthy vultures. They've been here since they brought her in in the ambulance." He shook his head.

After walking down corridor after corridor, we finally came to a very nice private room, that was filled to capacity with flowers, Eric's parents, and what I assumed to be Pam's. Elsie greeted me with her usual hug, followed by Peter. After a couple of minutes, Pam's mom introduced herself.

"You must be Eric's friend. I'm Ingrid Ravenscroft, Pamela's mother. This is her father, Sven." I looked over to a very rumpled man, who had clearly been crying. His eyes were red and blotchy and he had at least three days of stubble.

"For god's sake Ingrid, she's Eric's girlfriend, you know that. If you had just been more accepting of Pamela, we would not be in this situation." He glared at her, and excused himself. Pam's mom followed after him.

"You know, I think in all the years I've known them, that's the most I've ever heard him say to her." Peter laughed. "Pam was always his little girl. He's taking this pretty badly. He hasn't even been down to see the baby." He shook his head.

Eric sat down beside Pam, and gently stroked her arm. It was really touching to see him with her. "Has there been any change since I called this morning?"

"The doctor came by an hour ago and was optimistic. Her blood pressure has slowed down a bit, but she's not out of the woods yet. They are going to ease her off the medication and see how she responds. He thought that the next 48 hours were pretty important. Eric, we'll stay here a little longer. Why don't you take Sookie down to see the baby? I just came back and he's looking a bit bigger today."

"We'll be back in about twenty minutes then. Thanks for convincing me to get some sleep, and, well for convincing my fiancee to drop everything and fly here." He grabbed my hand and squeezed.

"Oh, you asked her!" Elsie beamed. "We'll talk more about that later. Go see your son."

We took an elevator down a few floors and after another few corridors, we walked up to a large trough sink. "You have to wash your hands for at least three minutes. They really have to worry about germs and infections down here." We stood beside each other, soaping up and methodically washing up, and then pulled on the blue hospital robes beside the sink. "The doctors said he's on the right side of things, being just about two months early. Any earlier than that would have significantly reduced his odds. He's just over here." He led me to a plastic incubator that was labelled baby Northman. Inside was the tiniest baby I'd ever seen.

"Eric, he's so tiny. Look at his tiny little hands." He was grasping and closing them, and I watched in amazement as Eric put a finger through one of the two hand holes and he smiled as the tiny baby held his finger.

"He feels a little stronger every day. Here, put your hand in here." He pointed to the other hole and I carefully put my hand in and stroked his tiny foot. "The nurse was saying that they crave skin to skin contact. See, he likes it." He kicked me with his tiny foot.

"He's got quite the kick on him." I looked in amazement as he opened his very blue eyes. "Wow, he's got your eyes, that's for sure."

"I think he's got Pam's nose though. I wish she could see him." I shot Eric a weak smile and wrapped my free arm around him.

"She's tough as nails, I'm sure she'll pull through."

"I hope so. She better."

A nurse approached us. She asked him something in Norwegian, and Eric excitedly responded back. I made a mental note to sign up for a Norwegian class immediately. Eric and his family all spoke English so fluently that I usually forgot that they even spoke anything else.

"Yea, of course." Eric looked at me, excited, but terrified. She pulled a rocking chair from a couple of incubators over and motioned for him to sit down.

"You should undo your shirt a bit, so he can lay on your chest. The skin to skin contact is really good for them." She looked over at me. "Sorry, I didn't realize that you didn't speak Norwegian, I'm Nora, my English isn't great, but I'll try."

"Thank you. Sorry, I haven't been here very long." I watched as Nora slowly opened the incubator up and gently pulled the baby out. Eric quickly unbuttoned his shirt, as she laid him in on his chest and brought his arms up to hold him.

"Just be careful of the cords. He needs the ventilator one for a couple more days, and the others monitor his vital signs."

We sat there, quietly, as Eric held his son, a perma-grin plastered on his face. "He doesn't have a name yet?" I whispered, as I looked at the tiny face on Eric's shoulder.

"Pam had a few names that we'd talked about, but I can't decide on something so important on my own. She'd want to be involved, so I guess it's baby Northman for now."

"Well then hello baby." I rubbed his little cheek and he looked up at me, or maybe past me, it was hard to tell. After about ten minutes, Nora came back.

"Sorry, we have to just do a little bit at a time, you can come back later if you want, maybe around five?" She reached and carefully took baby from Eric, putting him back in the incubator.

"Ok we'll be back at five." Eric buttoned his shirt back up, and I smirked as I saw Nora give him the once over. I didn't have to be telepathic to know that she was checking him out, and I really couldn't blame her. Nothing was sexier than an already sexy man, holding a baby. We said our little goodbyes and headed back up to send Eric's parent's home.

When we arrived at Pam's room, Elsie had fallen asleep in the chair beside the bed. Peter, still awake, nodded when we came in.

"Dad, I got to hold him."

"How'd that feel?" Peter grinned over at him.

"It was amazing. I could feel his little heart pounding away."

"We'll come back later on." Peter nudged Elsie and she groggily came to.

"Why don't you come back around five. They said I could hold him again then and I want you to see him, out of the incubator."

"Oh you got to hold him? That's so exciting. We'll be back at five then. Do you want us to bring you anything?"Elsie gathered her things and followed Peter to the door.

"Can you just stop on the way and grab us some McDonalds or something for dinner? I can't handle the cafeteria food for another day. If I ever see Jello again, it will be too soon."

"Sure. See you both later. Pam's parents went home for a bit too, but they'll be back this afternoon."

We were left alone, with a very comatose Pam. Eric pulled up a chair for me, and he sat down beside her. "The doctors are taking her off the medication that's keeping her like this, so it will be up to her to pull through in the next couple of days." He went back to stroking her arm. "I can't help but feel like this is my fault, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"I knew, clearly I knew that we weren't meant to be, but I still asked her to marry me, still asked her to move in with me, and kept sleeping with her. I should have just let her go, and dealt with the consequences. Then she'd be happy and healthy, and not lying here, fighting for her life."

I thought back to my conversation with Pam, where she also said she should have just let him go. Clearly, whatever feelings they had for each other were strong enough that they weren't just willing to give up each other without a bit of a fight. "Eric, I don't think you can think of it like that. She told me the same thing, that she should have just given you up, but she couldn't. Do you think, that all the crap you put each other through, all those years together, may have been for a reason, a tiny reason that's three floors and about a mile of corridor away?"

Eric thought about my reasoning, and then wiped a tear from his eye."Maybe you're right. I just hope she pulls through to see the reason for it all too."

"Me too." I reached out and grabbed his hand.

We sat there, most of the day, in silence, both of us willing Pam to wake up. I stayed with her while Eric went to check on baby a couple of times, and when her parent's returned, it was just Pam and I.

Ingrid came up and sat beside me. "Any change? Where's Eric?"

"He went down to check on the baby. He should be back in a minute. She's still the same."

"Maybe I'll go down and join him." Ingrid left me alone with Sven. I was just grateful not to be left alone with Ingrid. I moved so he could sit beside Pam and he smiled at me.

"You know, Sookie, when Pam was born, I was scared shitless. I didn't know anything about how to be a father, or a man for that matter. She taught me more than all my years in school and all my years in politics. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't pull out of this."

Since he had just spilled to a total stranger, I figured I'd put my two cents in. "You should go see the baby. Eric thinks he has her nose."

"Will you stay with her?"

"Yes, I'll be here until you get back."

"Thanks Sookie." He got up, kissed Pam on the forehead and headed down the hall.

I sat there, for a few minutes, looking at Pam, and thinking how much my life had changed in the past six months. Six months ago, I'd been bored stiff with Bill, with no real idea what I wanted to do with my life. Now I was sitting here, with the mother of my fiancee's child. I was going to be a stepmother. How did that happen?

I moved the blankets that Pam was covered in, which had become quite rumpled. I covered her shoulders up and, as I pulled my hand away, she grabbed my arm, hard. I look down at her face and her eyes whipped open. She searched for a moment, until she recognized my face. "Sookie? Where is he?"

"Eric will be back in a minute Pam. Let me call the doctor."

"Not Eric. The baby." Her eyes had a panicked look.

"Oh." Of course the baby. "He's downstairs in the ICU for babies. He's ok Pam. How did you know he's a boy?"

She let out a sigh of relief and released my arm. " Fortune teller and mother's intuition. Can you move the blanket? I can't feel anything below my waist." She looked so tired, like waking up had taken a lot out of her. I guess it probably had.

I nodded and pulled back the blankets, revealing a rather large scar. "He's ok though?"

"He's tiny, but the doctors think he's very strong. I was with Eric earlier, and he got to hold him."

"I only remember a searing pain, then waking up and having a bunch of doctors standing over me, and now this. Why can't I feel my legs?"

"I think they still have you on some medication. Let me call the doctor." I pushed the call button on the side of her bed."

"How did you get here?"

"I flew. I got here last night. Elsie called."

"You came for him."

"Of course I did. How could I not?"

"He's lucky to have you. We're all lucky to have you. I've been so awful to you and here you are, sitting with me. Do you have a twin sister you'd like to send my way?"

I leaned down and hugged her, and then moved out of the way, as the doctor started examining her.

***

Eric

I was playing handsies with baby Northman when Pam's parents joined me, each standing on one side. Sven stood back a couple of feet, looking a bit terrified.

"Here Sven, come put your hand in here."I moved out of the way and helped him put his hand in. "Now, just put your finger in his little hand, and he'll squeeze it." He did, and his face instantly perked up. "Now how great is that? He's doing so well."

"He does have Pam's nose, doesn't he?"

Clearly Sookie had talked him into coming down. "Yea, I think he does." I put an arm around his shoulder. Pam's mom was a bit of a flake, but I had always liked Sven. He and Pam were very close.

Ingrid sat down in the rocking chair, her very cold heart warming just a little bit, at the touching image of her husband and her grandson. We stood there a few minutes, not saying much, until Nurse Nora came over. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over for now. You can come back in a couple of hours, but we need to shut the lights off for a bit." I thanked her, and the three of us went back to Pam's room.

When we walked in the door, we were amazed to see Pam sitting up, eating my Big Mac meal that my parents had brought me. "I really wanted that Pam." I joked, as I gave her a huge hug.

"Easy there, I'm fragile. Sookie said you got to hold him? He's ok?"

"He's better than ok, isn't he Sven?" I noticed he was standing back a bit, as everyone fussed over Pam.

"That kid has quite a grip. And he has your nose darling." I smiled at him and he came over and sat on the side of Pam's bed. "You did good Pammy. He's beautiful."

"Thanks Dad". I looked at Pam, and she looked a bit overwhelmed with the six of us all crowded around her.

"Maybe we should give Pam a few minutes here, so she can finish my Big Mac in peace." She laughed, but looked extremely grateful for my suggestion. Everyone slowly got up and left, and as I was at the door, she stopped me.

"You. Stay. Just for a minute." I popped back in, as Sookie left with my parents.

"Only if you give me some fries." I joked, laughing as she handed them over.

"Thank you for being here. Sookie said you sat with me for three days."

"Where else would have I been? Pam, you should see him. We need to come with a proper name. I'm a bit worried that baby will stick if we don't."

"Like that girl from that Dancing movie? Yea, we better come up with something. I made a list, but I have no idea where it is."

"Do you remember any of the names?"

"I always liked William for a boy."

Like the long form of Bill? I think not. "I'd like to veto that one. Next?"

"How about Jacob?"

That was better. "Better. What about for a middle name?"

"What if we went with our Dad's names? Jacob Peter Sven Northman?"

"That's quite a handle, but he seems like a tough kid. Lets do it."

I got up to leave, but Pam put her arm on mine. "There's something else."

"Oh?"

"Sookie came all the way here, that quickly, for you? I hope you are planning to ask her to stay. I knew you for twenty years and I'm not sure I would have done that, giving up my job and everything."

I smiled a knowing smile. "I did one better. I asked her to marry me."

Pam looked a little sad, for about a half a second, but then perked up. "Good, another adult to babysit." She punched me playfully. "She's pretty great Northman. Don't fuck this one up."

"As I recall, Pam, I wasn't the one who fucked the last one up." She smacked me again. "Get some sleep. I'm sure everyone will be back in a bit."


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's a bit of a longer chapter. I couldn't decide where to break it, since I've been writing in one big document. Thanks for all the feedback, I hope I've answered a few questions that some of you have. I've also changed the spelling of the baby's name, so as not to confuse him with everyone's favourite werewolf, that is until Alcide makes an appearance on True Blood this summer!**

**As always, thanks for the comments and keep them coming!**

Pam rebounded quite quickly once she regained consciousness. She said it was the Big Mac, which her doctor scolded her for eating, so soon after coming off of such heavy medication. Pam was never very good at listening to anyone, but she promised to stay away from anything but hospital food until she got the ok. In fact, she was far more agreeable than I'd ever seen her. Sookie and I chalked her quick recovery and good attitude up to her desire to make it down those three floors to meet her son. She had a mild case of sepsis from her surgery, so she was surrounded by doctors around the clock, to make sure the condition didn't worsen. After a few more days in bed, she was finally given the go-ahead to go down to meet Jakob. It was just Sookie and I there, when the nurse brought the wheelchair by.

"I can go for a bit, if you want to go down together." Sookie picked up her coat.

Pam looked at her, deadpan, like she'd lost her mind. "Why would you go?"

"I don't know, I thought maybe you'd want to go meet him with Eric."

"I do want to go with Eric, but I want you to come too. These are your moments now too. You said yes." Pam had come full circle from looking a little sad when I told her to trying to figure out how we could divide diaper duty by threes and work out a feeding schedule that let her sleep for a full eight hours a night.

I helped Pam into the wheelchair and we headed downstairs. Sookie stood behind her, supporting her as she stood up and washed her hands. She was still a bit weak, but was growing stronger every day. She got back into her chair, and I pushed her slowly around the corner, stopping in front of Jakob's incubator.

"Wow, he's so small."

"Let me get the nurse, and you can hold him." I walked off, in search of Nora, who was usually the nurse that I dealt with. As I walked away, I smiled when I heard Pam ask Sookie if she was going to hurt him.

Sookie shook her head, and leaned in, and put her hand in Jakob's palm. Pam gasped as he grabbed her finger and squeezed. "He's really ok." I watched as Sookie helped Pam up, and she put her hand in with him, and he squeezed her finger and put it in his mouth. "He was a little under three pounds when he was born, and he's a little over four now. He's also grown two inches. Everyone seems really impressed with his progress."

"I think he's hungry. How is he eating?"

"I think this tube is the feeding one. And this one," she pointed to the bigger one, "is the one that helps with breathing. The doctor said his lungs are developing very quickly, so he may not need it for much longer."

I smiled at their little conversation. Sookie hadn't left my, and in turn, Pam's side for the better part of a week. We were both exhausted, but it was really rewarding to be here, now that they were both making such great progress. I returned with Nora and helped Pam with her robe, as our Nora got Jakob out of the incubator. She set him on Pam's bare shoulder, as she had with me, and then Sookie.

"He's so warm." She smiled as he wrapped his tiny hand in her hair. "I can feel his little heart. Hi little Jakob, you gave me quite a scare there."

Sookie looked at his little face, over Pam's shoulder. "I think he's fallen asleep. The nurse said they really get a lot of comfort from being with their family. Familiar smells and all that."

"He has that wonderful baby smell." In all the years I'd known her, I don't think I'd ever seen Pam look so content, or seen her with a baby. It looked right though, they both looked so peaceful.

I looked at Sookie and nodded that we should go for a bit, to give Pam some bonding time with Jakob. She nodded in agreement. "Pam, we are going to go get a coffee. I need to call Dad about his trip next week, so we'll have to go outside for that. We'll be back in 20 minutes?"

Pam nodded, completely blissed on on baby. I recognized that look, I'd been there once or twice this week myself.

We walked out of the room and Sookie grabbed my hand. "She looked really happy huh? I think she was really nervous to meet him."

"I knew she'd do fine. How could you not fall in love with that guy, he's such a trooper."

"And he's her little trooper to boot. Say, since everything is on the up and up here, do you want to go home a little early? Maybe once we help Pam upstairs?" We'd been here for at least 12 hours a day, for the entire week. "I need a little bit of bonding time with you." She winked at me.

I raised my eyebrow at her suggestion. "Well Pam's parents will be here in about 20 minutes, so I don't see why we couldn't say our goodbyes and go home now." I pulled her around, and we washed our hands again and headed back in.

I knelt down in front of Pam. "Hey, I think we are going to take off for the day. Your parents should be here in a few, and you should get your alone time in with him. We'll be back in the morning."

"Why don't you take the morning off and bring me some lunch from the outside world." Pam smiled at me. She had finally got the go-ahead to eat real food. "Go have some fun. You two deserve it."

"Deal." I went behind her and kissed Jakob goodbye. "See you in the morning, little man."

"Night Pam, call if you need anything." Sookie waved, as I grabbed her hand and led her straight out the door and to the car.

"I feel like this is the first time I've seen daylight in weeks." The nights were getting longer, since it was almost October. "Do you need to stop anywhere?"

Sookie laughed. "Yea, I need to stop by a pharmacy. I guess now is a good time to tell you that I left my toothbrush in Japan, so I've been using yours all week."

"Great, I guess I need a new toothbrush too then." I laughed as she poked me.

We went into the pharmacy around the corner from my house and picked up all the essentials that Sookie had been lacking for the week. She had, without complaint, been using my very cheap shampoo, with no conditioner, and my deodorant too.

"Well I was in a bit of a hurry when I left. I'm surprised you didn't notice that I smelled like you all week."

I hadn't noticed. "Lover, you could have not brushed your teeth all week and I wouldn't have noticed. All I've noticed is that you're here."

"You're sweet. Even when you are sleep deprived. I told Pam I'd pick her up some shampoo too. Do you know what kind she likes?"

"I have no idea. Probably something expensive." She picked some sort of shampoo for blond hair up.

We paid, and headed for home. When we got there, we both staggered in and collapsed in a heap on the couch. "I'm glad that Dad offered to go to Korea next week. I would have been useless."

"They probably thought they were special, getting Northman Senior."

I looked at her, so beautiful without any makeup and wearing an old pair of black sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt and I desperately wanted the energy to take her on the couch and make her scream my name, but I just didn't have it. "Can we take a nap?"

"I thought you'd never ask." We trudged upstairs, undressed and snuggled together under the warm blanket.

"As soon as I wake up Lover, you and me have a date, with the shower."

"Do I smell that awful?" I laughed as she lifted up her t-shirt, checking to see if she was a bit ripe.

"Not that kind of shower." I waggled my eyebrows at her.

"Oh." She raised her eyebrows at me. "Yes please, but nap first. I don't want to fall asleep, not that you'd let me." She snuggled her head into my chest, and her hair did smell like my shampoo.

***

Sookie

I woke up a few hours later, feeling quite refreshed. I rolled over to find Eric sprawled out on the bed, lying on his stomach, his first class ass exposed for my viewing pleasure. I sat there, grinning at him for a minute or two, before I leaned over and kissed him. He stirred a bit, and then turned on his side and pulled me into him.

"Now that's a wake up." He rolled me underneath him, the weight of his body feeling divine against mine.

"The hell with the shower. I want you now." I wrapped a carefully placed leg around him, urging him inside of me. Our sex life since I had gotten here had been, well much diminished from our usual urgency to have as much sex as possible in a few days, because of all the time in the hospital. We'd managed a quickie on the couch one afternoon, but that was it. I let out a moan as he filled me completely. "Fuck that's amazing." I hooked my legs around his, urging him in until he hit the spot that made my toes curl. I let out a gratuitous moan.

"Fuck, you're so, fuck. I can't even think of a word." He increased his pace, picking up my hips, hitting the spot with increased intensity. After what was probably a few minutes, but seemed like hours, I came, hard, and cried out so loud that I was fairly certain the neighbours heard.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet Lover." I gasped for air, as he switched positions, so we were both on our sides, Eric behind me, which him full access to play my body like an instrument. I moaned as he tweaked my sensitive nipples, before moving one hand lower. I wrapped my leg behind him again, as I felt myself falling over the edge again. I held off as long as possible, waiting for him to finish as well. As soon as I felt his familiar pulsing within me, I was done for.

"You are a god, Eric Northman." I rolled over to face him, and he kissed my forehead.

"You aren't so bad yourself." He pulled me into his arms. "I wish I had of proposed when we actually had some time to enjoy it and celebrate, but I just really didn't think I could wait any longer."

"Well, once we get through all this, we will do something. For the first time, we have nothing but time." And we did. And it felt amazing. "We should go out for dinner. My treat."

"We should go out for dinner, but it will be my treat. I insist."

"Next time, its my treat." I needed to get my finances in order. I really didn't want to be dependent on Eric financially, although he seemed to have no issues with it. I'd made my own way for a long time, and I liked how it felt.

"You can buy us lunch tomorrow. Remember, we told Pam we'd bring her back something."

"Ok, deal." We hopped up and took the shower that we'd both been aching for, and emerged feeling much refreshed and revitalized. Eric disappeared downstairs for a bit, to make a reservation and I put on some makeup, for the first time in days.

"I want to take you somewhere nice." I laughed as he pulled on the same suit from the other night. "This is my lucky suit Lover, and I intend to getting lucky at least twice more before the night is over."

"Well you know what they say about the power of positive thinking."I laughed as I dug through my bag and pulled out the purple wrap dress that his mom had sent me. "Is this appropriate?"

He smiled at me. "More than appropriate. That dress makes you look like sex on a stick. And since this isn't a business dinner, I reserve the right to deal with anyone that's making eyes at you. We should get going though, our reservation is in half an hour."

The nights were getting very cool, so I grabbed my wool coat, which I'd been smart enough to pack. I had the feeling though that a winter in Norway was going to be colder than I could even imagine. I needed to call Amelia and make arrangements to send my stuff out. I'd emailed her and told her a bit about what was happening, but I wanted to wait and tell her about the engagement on the phone. We got into Eric's car and drove downtown, stopping at the Grand Hotel in downtown Oslo. We got out, and the valet parked Eric's car. We went inside and were seated.

"Wow, this is really fancy." I looked around, taking in the room.

"Wait until you try the food. I'm only impressed by ambiance if the food measures up as well, and it does."

After a delicious, elaborate three course meal, followed by an extremely rich chocolate dish of some sort that I insisted on sharing, we headed for the valet to retrieve Eric's car. Unfortunately, it was at the same time that some Norwegian celebrity that I'd never heard of arrived with her entourage.

"Eric, who is that?" I leaned in and whispered to him, quite unprepared for the amount of cameras that were between us and the car.

"That's Dorthe Skappel. She's a television personality that's pretty scandalous. Just put your head down. It looks like everyone is paying attention to her."

We put our heads down and waited for the car, unfortunately because of the large fuss that was forming outside the hotel, it was delayed, and one of the reporters noticed Eric. He was pretty hard not to notice, at 6 ½ feet of perfection. He put an arm around me protectively and glared, as the young female reporter made her way over. "Just don't say anything. Usually if you are rude they go away."

She started asking in Norwegian, but then changed her tune when she saw the blank expression on my face. "Eric Northman, do you have any comment on Pamela Ravenscroft's condition? Is it true that she's regained consciousness and seen her baby? Is the child she delivered healthy?"

"I don't have any comment. Now, please leave us to enjoy our evening." Eric looked at me and rolled his eyes.

Another reporter, a short man with a mass of freckles came over. "Is the child yours? Who is your mystery friend?"

I kept my head down, and stuffed my hands in my pockets. I really didn't want to draw attention to my ring or our engagement. We hadn't really had the chance to celebrate ourselves, the last thing I wanted was to make it public knowledge. I hadn't even called Jason yet.

"Miss, is it true that you have relocated to Oslo to live with Eric? Can you tell us your name? Where are you from? Are you American?" How would they know that? I hadn't even unpacked my suitcase yet.

"No comment." Was my only reply. Where the hell was the car?

"Eric, is it true that Pamela was involved with no less than 8 woman throughout your relationship? Were you aware of her transgressions and accepting of them? Is it true that you convinced her to have this child, even though you had severed your relationship?"

Eric looked at me, fury bubbling in his usually clear eyes. They had hit on a very sore spot. "Our relationship is private. I'm not answering any questions." He hissed at them.

"Come on, we'll just go home." I wrapped an arm around his waist. More reporters came over, deciding that we were the more interesting than the person they'd originally came to see. I had never really thought of how awful it would be to have some measure of fame, but it was plain to see now. Eric looked miserable. He was so low key, so private, which is why something like this was very difficult to take. "Lets go wait for the car over here." we walked to the very edge of the curb, which did very little to help the situation, but did keep the reporters out of out faces.

"I'm sorry, I should have known that this would happen." Eric shook his head.

"We had a really nice dinner. Please don't worry about it." I squeezed my arm around his waist. "Come on, the car is here." We quickly got in it, and Eric cursed out the valet for taking so long, well that's what I assumed he was doing, because it wasn't in English. We drove out, honking at one reporter who thought they would try to get pictures of us in the car.

"You know what I think is happening here?" Eric still looked furious.

"What? We were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. That's all, right?" I leaned over and grabbed his hand.

"They seem to know things that they probably shouldn't. Like that you had moved here, and the idea that I forced Pam into having the baby, which is ludicrous, but I've heard it before. I've thought this before, but its really coming together now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Can you call my parents? My phone is in my pocket. Do you mind if we stop over there for a few minutes? I just need to see something."

"Sure." I dialed and Peter answered. I told him we would be there in about ten minutes.

"Now what are you talking about?"

"Someone is leaking information to the press. I need to look through Mom's clippings, but I think I may have figured out who it is. I'm not doing this. My life will not be media fodder because she's afraid of becoming irrelevant."

"Who?" Although I kind of had my suspicions, from the minute they mentioned me relocating.

"Pam's Mother. She's the only person I know that's vile enough to sell her own child out."

We pulled into Eric's parents driveway. Elsie answered the door. "You both look so nice. Eric, what's going on? Is everything ok?"

"Have you been doing the clippings since Jakob was born?"

She signed. "No, I got a bit behind, being at the hospital, but I saved all the papers, for when I have some time. She led us in into the kitchen and pointed to a giant pile of newspapers. "Why?"

"We just got accosted at dinner, and they had some pretty personal information on us, and Pam's condition. I think we may have a rat in our midst."

"You don't think that someone would actually give information to them? Its really just been us, you both, and Pamela's parents there." I saw the lightbulb go off in Elsie's head too. "You don't think Ingrid would do such a thing?"

"How would have they known to be at the hospital so quickly that night? I only called you and them, no one else. Not even Sookie. How would have they known?"

"Ok, lets go through and cut out what we can here." The four of us sat down at the kitchen table and began cutting. Eric and Elsie translated the articles that weren't in English, which was most of them. There was at least one article from each day on the situation, as well as a few very unexpected ones. I pulled the newspaper from the day I arrived and was shocked to see myself getting into a cab.

"How is this possible? They don't even know my name, but they knew to be at the airport?"

Elsie hissed. "I told them you were coming, so it wouldn't be a big shock when you came to the hospital the next day."

We went through newspaper after newspaper, and when you looked at the information, it was pretty clear that Eric's suspicions had been correct. They knew Jakob's weight, that Pam had a mild case of sepsis, everything.

"What do we do, now that we know this?" I looked at Eric, who was positively fuming.

"I could kill her. Our lives, displayed for everyone to see? I wonder how long she's been doing this for?"

"We've always been so private." I watched as Peter comforted Elsie. "He's just a tiny baby."

After we had gone through about a month's worth of papers, and found all the proof we needed, we moved to the living room to try to decide what to do with it.

"You could confront her?"

Eric shook his head. "She wouldn't care. How the hell am I going to tell Pam this?"

Peter had a bit of a revelation. "What if you beat her to it and issue a statement? Then you can control the information that's out there."

Eric shook his head, but then seemed to be processing what Peter had said. "That's actually not a bad idea. We will talk it over with Pam tomorrow. She's going to be so upset."

We sat for a little longer, trying to wrap our heads around this mess. We were all, quite normal, boring people, not really of any interest to the general public, which is why this was quite difficult for us to handle. I thought back to Eric and Pam's breakup, a short eight months ago, and how nasty some of the stories had Amelia had shown me had been, especially about Pam. The idea that a mother could betray their own child like that was unimaginable. "Do you think she's been doing this for a long time?"

Eric scowled. "I've thought that for a very long time, but never really had the proof. Besides, it was one thing when it was just about Pam and I,we're adults. Its a whole new problem now that the baby is here."

We said our goodbyes to Elsie and Peter and headed home. Eric grabbed Elsie's book of clippings and the ones we just cut out. I have to admit, I was a bit overwhelmed by the evenings activities, and was quite glad to see that everyone else had been as well. I looked over at Eric's face, which was hard, in the glow of the streetlights. "Are you ok?"

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before. I knew that I wasn't giving the press information on my relationship with Pam. I was in Japan, with you, when it all broke. I'm sure Pam wasn't telling everyone that she was going down on Oslo's elite."

"We'll figure this out. Would you feel better if you talked to Pam about it now? Its only about 10, she's probably still awake, and I doubt her parents would be there."

Eric looked over at me. "To be honest, I think I should. I'm not going to be very good company if I don't."

"Then let's go. I have her shampoo, so we can use that as an excuse if they are there."

"If they are there, then you are probably going to have to physically restrain me from attacking her mother."

I looked over at Eric, who was almost a foot taller than me, and far larger. "Great."

We pulled into the hospital parking lot, and Eric breathed a sigh of relief when we got in the door without spotting a reporter. "Can we just stop and see Jakob first? Just for a minute? Then I won't feel like this trip is a total bust."

"Of course. That's a silly question."

"I know, but its supposed to be a night off. I feel pretty awful dragging you back in here."

"Don't. Those reporters were asking me questions too. I'd like to come up with a solution just as much as you. This is our life. With an emphasis on the our."

"I know, I just feel like I've dragged you into this."

"Too late to think like that. Come on, lets go in and see Jakob." We washed our hands, and put on the blue robe. Jakob was fast asleep, his little mouth wide open as he slept. "He looks bigger every time I see him. He looks even bigger than he did this afternoon."

"We have a meeting next week about long-term plans. I'm hoping we get some sort of answer as to when we can take him home. His due date was mid-December, so I'm hoping by around then." We stood there, watching him sleep for a few minutes, before heading up to see Pam.

To my great relief, Pam was alone when we got there. "You two just couldn't take the evening off? I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I was actually enjoying a bit of peace and quiet. My parent's just left an hour ago." Eric looked at her, and her tone changed almost instantly. "This isn't a pleasure visit I'm assuming? Why are you both dressed up?"

Eric ignored her question and dumped the clippings that we had cut out on the bed, while holding his mom's scrapbook under one arm. "Take a look at these, and tell me if you reach the same conclusion I did."

Pam started flipping through them, skimming the headlines. Her hands started to shake, as she pulled out the article describing her trip to the hospital. "How did they know this? How did they know how much Jakob weighed at birth? How did they know that Mara came by to see me two days ago? You didn't even know that, and she came in the back way. She said no one saw her. Someone must have read her card."

"I think if you stop and think about it for a moment, you will know exactly how."

Pam became visibly upset, grabbing the book of clippings from Eric's arm. She flipped to the section that dealt with their breakup. "No one knew these things except for her. I confided in her. How could have I been so stupid?"

I looked over at Eric, who was still looking pissed off, and at Pam who was now crying, but looked like she was about to lose it. I didn't want to be the first to speak, but I knew Pam shouldn't be getting so upset. "Eric, sit down. You're upsetting Pam." He looked over at me, and plunked himself down in the chair beside the bed. I sat on the bed beside Pam. "Eric, you've had a little while to process this. Let's give Pam a few minutes." We sat there, in silence and I moved to sit beside him, giving Pam a bit of space. I covered his hand with my smaller one, and I smiled at him, as he ran his finger over my ring, turning it around on my finger.

After a few minutes, Pam spoke. "What do we do now? She can't come here anymore. I can't have her around Jakob. She's selling us out. Dad is going to be furious. He'll probably leave her, although if she's really this terrible, she'll love the scandal."

"My Dad suggested we release some sort of press statement and beat her to the punch. At least that way, we have control over what information is released."

"I can't believe this is happening." Pam started to cry, which had Eric looking terrified. I guessed it wasn't something you saw very often. "Can we talk about this tomorrow? I need a bit of time. I'll call Dad and tell him that I don't want to see her tomorrow. He'll understand."

"We'll go." I pulled on Eric and he stood up beside me. "We'll be back tomorrow with your lunch. Oh, and I brought you some shampoo."

Pam smiled weakly, as we headed for the door. "Sookie, wait."

I poked my head back in. "Yea?"

"I want you to sign some paperwork tomorrow. I was going to wait and talk to you both about it then, but we may as well discuss it now."

We came in and sat back down. "I want you to be Jakob's godmother. I've been thinking about this a bit, and in case anything happens to me, I want you and Eric to have full custody. I don't want Eric to have anyone questioning custody. I want him with you both."

"Pam, you are on your way to a full recovery. I don't think we need to talk about this now."

"Eric, what if I had of died? I'm sure my mother would have made a huge stink about having him, and made things as difficult as possible for you. That can't happen. I could be hit by a bus as soon as I walk out of here. I want to sign the paperwork. When we both get out of here, we can talk about shared custody and all that, I don't care about that. I know we will be able to work it out. I just need to not think about what could happen to him if anything happens to me."

"Pam, give us a bit of time to think about this." Eric looked at me. "We've all had a long day." Eric got up and led me out the door. I gave Pam a little wave and a reassuring smile.


	15. Chapter 15

**Well, since I cleared 200 reviews, I'll give you another, pretty long chapter! I hope you all like it. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming!**

We walked to the car in silence. Life had gotten really heavy over the past few weeks. We were halfway home when Eric finally spoke."She should have asked me about that first. It wasn't fair of her to put you on the spot."

"Eric, I assumed with you proposing, that I'd be Jakob's stepmother. Its not really a big deal for it to be on paper. You are kind of a package deal."

"By signing what she wants you to sign, it means that if anything happened to her and me, that you'd retain custody of him." Oh. "Its a bit more than just playing house with me, which I am very much looking forward to, by the way." He shot me a reassuring smile. "I just want to make sure you know what you are signing up for."

I thought about my options for a minute and realized that there was only one that made any sense. "I'll do it. Unless of course, you are planning on flying the coop sometime in the near future. I love you, and just as Pam doesn't want to worry about what happens to Jakob, I don't want you to have to worry about it either. If you think its best, then I'll do it."

"Well, I guess I made the right decision, not that I've ever questioned it."

"Asking me to marry you? I would hope so." I smirked at him.

"No, further back than that. When I got involved at the castle." He wrapped an arm around me in the car. "You are really unlike anyone I've ever met, Sookie Stackhouse. Most people would have run for the hills a long time ago."

"And missed out on you, your amazing smiles and your sexabilities? Never." I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I knew what I was signing on for, way back when you told me Pam was pregnant. Of course, I never thought we'd be here now, but here I am. I'm in."

He smiled at me, as he came around to open my car door. Bare legs were not going to cut it here. I was freezing. "Come on, lets go inside. We are going to need to get you a proper winter coat, Lover." I shivered as I stepped into the warm house.

"We hardly even get snow in Louisiana. Japan was a bit of a cold shock for me, and it wasn't nearly this cold."

"Its really stunning when its all snowy though. And, there are some perks." He pulled me into his warm chest. "Warming up can be quite fun."

"You're in a better mood."

"I'm glad I talked to Pam. That vile woman shouldn't be around my son. What's next? Selling pictures of him in the incubator?"

"I don't think she'd swoop that low."

"I'm not sure she wouldn't. She is personally responsible for ending the marriages of three of Pam's lovers, not that they probably shouldn't have been ended anyway, but it wasn't her place."

"That's really terrible." She really was vile. That was a good word to describe the whole situation.

"Its going to be a lot to deal with tomorrow, but let's leave it for tomorrow. We still have 12 hours before we said we'd be back."

"I really need to call Jason. Do you want to come with me and we'll call him on skype?" Jason didn't have skype, but it was really cheap to call him on his landline using it.

"Sure." We walked into the office, and I curled up on his lap, smiling at the memory of all the conversations we'd had with him sitting right here. It was great to finally be here, with him, for keeps. I dialed the number, and after a few rings, he answered.

"Hi Jason, its your sister."

"Oh hey sis, I've been meaning to call you."

"Me too. I have big news!"

"Me too. You go first."

"Eric asked me to marry him. I'm moving, well I've moved to Norway."

"That's great, a little unexpected, but great." He sounded a bit disinterested. Typical Jason. "Well, I have some good news and some bad news."

"Bad first please?" I couldn't take too much more bad news. Eric gave me a quick squeeze.

"Hoyt met some chick, who was living in the old house across the cemetery, so he's moving in with her. I had another offer on the house though, this one higher than the last." Ugh, I thought I'd solved that problem. Back to the drawing board I guess.

"And the good news?"

"This girl I've been seeing, well I saw her a couple of times, she's gonna have my baby. She's real nice Sook, I think you'll like her. Her name's Crystal."

Boy this sounded great. I put on my optimistic voice. "Well, I'm happy if you're happy Jas. Let me think on the house for a bit. How would you feel if I sold it?"

"I think Gran would want you to have the money and be happy. Its not like you're gonna move back and raise a mess of babies here or anything. If you do decide to sell though, you are gonna have to come back and clean out the place. I'll help ya, but you are gonna have to be here and decide what you want to keep. Hoyt locked up anything of value, but there's a lot of stuff to go through."

"Ok Jason, let me think about it for a couple of days."

"Night sis." He hung up.

"I think I'm ready. I think I'm ready to sell it. I can use the money to go back to school here."

"If you can wait until January, I can go back with you for a week. Maybe you can go back a little earlier and then I'll join you. I want to see where you're from too. I just need to wait until everything calms down a bit here."

"I'd like that." I laughed. "Its pretty different from here. I'm going to do it. Gran would want me to use the money to go back to school. And Jason's having a baby. I hope its his. He seems to get into these messes all the time."

Eric stood up and carried me to the couch, setting me down gently. "You know what one of my favourite things about you is? You're always moving forward, you never get tangled up in the past, like so many people do."

"Its been pretty easy to do, when moving forward meant that you would be there. I haven't always been so good at moving forward."

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest."Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Let's just go to bed. It would be a shame to put your lucky suit to waste." I saw the mischievous glint in his eye that I knew too well.

"Yes, it would be. I like how you think. Race you to bed."

Eric won of course, but I told him I let him win. It didn't really matter, because we both came out on top.

***

Eric

The next morning, we reluctantly hauled ourselves out of bed, enjoyed another fantastic shower and headed to one of Pam's favourite cafes for lunch, since we'd promised to pick her up something. I knew the prices were fair, since Sookie insisted on paying. I really wished she wouldn't worry about money so much, since I wasn't exactly in a hard way with it, but I understood her reluctance to be dependant on someone when she'd been responsible for her own finances for so long. We picked Pam up a chicken salad, that I remembered that she enjoyed and we headed over to the hospital.

When we got there, Pam and her father were meeting with their lawyer, someone I recognized as being very well known. We sat down, and read and signed over the paperwork she had had drawn up, which gave us full custody of Jakob if anything happened to her, and full custody to Sookie if anything happened to us. I knew this was the right thing to do, as we were both only children with aging parents. I knew Sookie would make an effort to involve Jakob in the lives of his grandparents and would honour our memory if anything was to happen. This type of thing was not something that I would have chose to do now, but I understood Pam's reasoning.

The second part of her lawyer's visit was far less simple. Pam had decided to get a restraining order against her mother, barring her from any contact from any of us, on the grounds that her actions could endanger us, as the media could be quite aggressive. Her lawyer called it a groundbreaking case, and seemed quite excited to take it on. Her father had filed for separation that morning, saying that it was a long time coming. It had been a big scene apparently, with the police and media showing up in droves. He had moved into Pam's condo until Pam's Mom could get her stuff out of their home, which was his, as his parent's had bought it for him before they were married. Had they split under better terms, then he probably would have been more lenient about selling the house and splitting the profits, but he was angry and planned to rake her over the coals, in the same way she'd done their daughter. I had no doubt that he'd be successful. Its not every day that a parent does such a vile thing to their child, and even though the papers were the ones that had been taking her information, I was pretty sure they'd have no qualms about taking this story as well. In the days following, all the sordid details of their marriage came to light, and mom diligently cut out all the clippings as usual.

Pam and I issued a statement, asking for our privacy during this time, and shared a photo of us with Jakob, and a very abridged version of our story with a very liberal publication, one that openly supported gay rights. Sookie and I, in order to maintain some privacy, posted an engagement announcement in Norway's most widely circulated paper. We figured issuing a press statement was a quick way to keep us in the public eye, but a simple engagement announcement would quell any questions, and make it known that we didn't want to be a part of the media circus. Things died down substantially after that, since we'd cut off the leak at the source. We'd still run into reporters at the grocery store sometimes, but they had less and less to ask us. The question was usually "How's the baby?" And my response was usually "Great, thanks for asking." And I'd leave it at that.

On December 1st, Pam was given the green light to go home. Jakob would have to stay until his due date, which was a couple of weeks later, but he was well over twice his birth weight and just kept on growing. He was off of all the tubes now, and had a different type of incubator, which was more like a crib. Pam had had her father bring in the blanket that Sookie had given her, and we usually wrapped him in it when we held him now. The doctors were carefully monitoring his development, but saw no need for any concern, because had reached all the necessary developmental milestones. He was small, but we were told that was to be expected, and after a few months, he'd level out with children born around his actual due date. After a few days of living together, Pam's dad promptly moved into one of his empty investment properties. They were close, but not close enough to share a condo.

Since she'd been out of the hospital, we hadn't seen as much of Pam, which was a bit of a relief. I needed a break, and every minute I spent with her made me realize more and more that we never would have worked as a couple. I was glad though, that her and Sookie were getting along, because it made things much easier, when it came to Jakob. I was, however, looking forward to having her as less of a presence in our everyday lives. I was enjoying having Sookie all to myself for a bit, since so much of our time since she'd moved here had been spent with either Pam or my parents. I fell in love with her a little more every day, which I didn't think was possible. It was the little things, like when she slept in my shirt, and when we made breakfast together, and how she was with Jakob. She'd moved in more, and I didn't care that she left her makeup all over the vanity and her shoes all over the hall. They were all signs that she really lived here, and was making my space into hers as well.

When Pam had been home for a week, the three of us sat down, to try and work out some sort of visitation schedule. I knew I'd have to start travelling for work in the new year, but it would be less than I had been before. We had hired someone that my dad had known and trusted for almost twenty years to cover most of Asia, so Dad and I would be left with Hong Kong and Japan, which were the largest markets. Japan was quite stable, so it would really only be Hong Kong that would involve a great deal of work. In many cases though, they were more than happy to communicate via conference call, so we figured we'd be able to get away with visiting once every couple of months, and once a month to Japan. Dad had agreed to split the travel with me for the next little bit, which meant I'd be home much more than I had been in years. He really thought it was important for me to spend as much time with Jakob as possible which was a huge relief.

Sookie also happily agreed to come with me whenever we could make it work. I wasn't ready to leave her in a strange country for long periods of time, and, as Mom reminded me, having a smart, beautiful woman accompanying me would go a long way in closing business. Pam and I agreed to alternating weekends, and three days on, three days off with Jakob, for the first little while. We also agreed to be flexible if things came up for either of us. I brought up going to Louisiana with Sookie for a week in late January, and she happily agreed, if I'd allow her a week in New York in April. There was some gallery display that was being put on by one of her colleagues from school that she really wanted to see.

When Jakob was finally given the go-ahead to come home, I felt like a 1000 pound weight had been lifted off my chest. Pam had asked for the first three days, and I gladly gave it to her, and Sookie and I decided we'd let them spend the time alone without our intrusion, as hard as it was to go three days without seeing the little guy. Sookie and I went and picked out a second car, deciding on a Volvo SUV that was quite similar to my mother's. It had an excellent safety record and was good in the snow, so we went with it. We started mulling over some wedding plans, but decided we had too much going to give it any serious thought right away. Sookie thought a year and a half would be a suitable engagement, so we could wait until the summer to start making plans for the next summer. I didn't really care about the details, I just wanted her. I'd go along with anything she wanted. She said she wanted a small wedding, and since neither of us came from large families, I didn't think that would be too much of a problem. Her and my Mom had had a few discussions about venues, and I was so glad that they got along well enough to be able to make plans together.

When Pam's three days were up, we bundled up, hooked up the new, state of the art carseat we'd bought and headed over to pick him up. Since Pam wasn't breastfeeding since she hadn't carried to term and had been in a coma for the first few days, we had picked out a formula together, which we had at the house. Sookie and I had spent most of the day before picking up all the essentials we would need, like diapers, baby shampoo, talcum powder, the whole lot of it. We had everything we could possibly need.

We parked and headed up to Pam's apartment, both of us a bit giddy after all the preparation.

"You know, we really have no idea what we are getting ourselves into here." I grabbed Sookie in the elevator and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Hey mister, speak for yourself. I used to babysit all the time as a teenager." She took my hand as we got off the elevator and knocked on the door.

Pam opened up, and looked totally destroyed. "He's all yours. He's been crying for three days straight. I had him to the doctor twice and they said he's just a crier. I need some sleep." She handed him over to Eric.

"Where's his snowsuit?"

"I think its hanging up by the door. I packed a little bag. Can you guys take it from here? I'm going to bed. Lock up on your way out." She stood on her tiptoes and gave Jakob a little kiss on the cheek. "Be good little man. And noisy." She winked at me, as she stomped off to bed.

We laid him down on the floor and got him into his little suit, carried him down to the elevator and then strapped him into the carseat. Sookie sat in the back with him and we both smiled the whole way home, as he made little baby noises while Sookie cooed at him.

We got home in about two minutes and carried him inside. Sookie laughed. "I think he's all cried out."

"Lets not tell Pam. If she asks, he cried the whole way home." He was asleep in ten minutes flat. We took him out of his carrier and the three of us lay on the couch and put a movie on. The doctors had said that for the first little bit, we should feed him as much as he wanted, so when he woke up and started looking like he was going to cry, we made him up a bottle, and he seemed pretty happy. I took the first round of diaper duty, and Sookie laughed her way through the whole thing.

"I bet, if someone told you a year ago, that you'd be sitting here, doing this, you would have laughed in their face." She smiled at me broadly.

"You are damn right. But I think I have this diaper thing down." I cleaned him up and folded down the sticky tabs like a pro. I smiled as Jakob cooed at me, as I picked him up and held him.

The doctors had warned us that most newborns have a fussy period in the early evening, and as soon as 5pm hit, the crying started. We fed him, walked him around, and changed his diaper twice, with no success. Eventually we put him down in his carrier and he stopped.

"I guess he likes it in there." I shrugged my shoulders. I prayed that he'd sleep a bit tonight, but I knew from the mass of baby books that we'd both read while we were waiting for him to get out of the hospital that it was going to get a lot worse before it got better.

"I guess so. When's your Mom and Dad stopping by? We should clean up a bit before they get there."

"Things look ok, don't they?" I looked around and saw what she meant. In six hours, our house had turned into baby central, with bags, garbage, and formula everywhere. Sookie raised her eyebrows at me. "Uh, yea, lets do that." We spent ten minutes tidying up, and took a little nap on the couch while Jakob slept away. All the books had said to nap while the baby naps.

About an hour later, I woke up to the sound of someone knocking at the door. I groaned and pulled myself up, poking Sookie. "I think they're here." She mumbled something and pulled herself up, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

I opened the door and was surprised to see Pam standing there. "Hey. Six hours and you had to see him huh?" I teased her.

"Yea, yea. That and I left my credit card in the baby bag. I made some last minute dinner plans."

I raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Back on the horse already?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's someone I took a class with before any of this. I'm assuming she's read the papers, but she called me."

"Well good luck. Come on in." I opened the door and she took her snowy boots off in the entry way. Sookie was still wiping her eyes on the couch.

"He's sleeping? 7pm and he's sleeping? And you were both sleeping? That's really not fair Jake." She cooed at him. "You better keep Daddy and Sookie up all night. Its only fair." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and fished her credit card out of the diaper bag. "Call if you need me." And she was gone.

"She's got a hot date?" Sookie smiled at me broadly.

"Actually she does."

"Really?"

"So she says. Good for her." I'd be happy if Pam met someone. She deserved a bit of happiness after everything she'd been through with the pregnancy and her mother.

Mom and Dad came over a little bit later and played with Jakob, who was actually awake, but had hardly cried. "He's a really good baby. You were never this easy." Mom remarked, as she snuggled with him in the big armchair.

"Don't tell Pam that. He kept her up crying for three days straight."

"Babies are pretty unpredictable. Maybe tomorrow he'll cry all day with you two."

Luckily for us, Mom's prediction was incorrect. He slept for about four hours, then needed up for some food and to be changed, and then slept another four hours. Sookie and I took turns getting up with him in the night, and neither of us felt too taxed at the end of the three days. Christmas was coming up, and we'd agreed that Pam would come over first thing for breakfast, so we could both be there for his first Christmas morning. My parents invited us all, along with Pam and her Dad over for dinner, so we all woke up and opened a glut of presents, most of them for Jakob. Sookie and I exchanged gifts the night before so we could have a bit of time to celebrate without Pam around. I'd ordered Sookie a new winter coat and a pair of hideous, but functional winter boots, with Mom's help of course. I also threw in a little blue box with a key necklace that I'd picked up in Hong Kong in the jacket pocket, when everything had gotten so messed up with my proposal. She'd bought me a new, very expensive camera, citing that I needed to start taking more pictures. She was right, Jakob was getting bigger and bigger each day and I'd been saying I wanted an SLR probably since we met. We each chipped in and got Pam a spa weekend certificate that she could use on one of our weekends.

Dinner at Mom and Dad's was really nice. Pam's Dad was in great spirits, as Ingrid was going to be out of his house by the end of January. For such a strange family, we all got along quite well. The media coverage on Ingrid had died down a bit, but Pam had fought hard to have the restraining order kept in place as long as possible. She was still very angry about everything, as she had the right to be.

We dropped Pam and Jake off at her condo and headed home to share a bit of christmas cheer. We seemingly both had the same idea, as we stripped each other down frantically, both finding what we were looking for wrapped in very attractive red packaging, Sookie in a very lacy red set, and me in my red briefs. She laughed her head off, reminding me that they were the same ones I wore during our first encounter. I countered by asking her when she was going to break out that very sexy pink set again. On New Years eve, I got my wish.

Before I knew it, Jake and I were putting Sookie on a plane to New Orleans. We both waved goodbye, and I took him home, a little nervous about my first two days on my own with him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey folks, I'm on a bit of a roll here, having a lazy Saturday, and since I already had this written, I thought I'd post it, since I've been getting so much love for this story! Keep the feedback coming!**

***

Sookie

If I said I wasn't nervous about going home for the first time in a year, I'd be lying. I hugged and kissed Eric and Jakob, sad that I was saying goodbye, but relieved that he would be joining me in a week. I twisted my necklace as I went through security. It was such a sweet present, and the little speech he had prepared to go along with it, made it even sweeter. We'd had such a great Christmas together. I never thought I'd feel so at home in Norway, in fact, had you asked me a year ago, I never would have imagined that I'd be in the situation that I was in, but I'd honestly never been happier. My old boss, Sam, had emailed me when Jason ran into him and told him I was coming home, and offered to pick me up in New Orleans. I'd worked for Sam all through high school, and in the summers during university. He'd been a great friend to me, and I was so excited to see him again, after a couple of years. I hadn't seen him since Gran's funeral. Bill had been quite jealous of our friendship, so I hadn't stopped in to see him before I left, because I'd had Bill with me. The flight went by relatively quickly, as I slept my way through it, as usual. When we landed in New Orleans, I actually felt rested. I'd grown quite used to sleeping in four hour intervals, with Jake staying with us so much.

As I cleared the gate and saw Sam waiting for me, my heart soared. I was so glad to see him, and still a little bit angry with Bill from alienating me from the people in my life that were so important to me. I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around him.

"Sookie Stackhouse, you look fantastic. Whatever you're doing, keep it up." Sam was going a bit grey, but still looked as handsome as ever.

"Sam, I've missed you. Thank you for coming to get me. I know things have been a bit awkward with us, but I'm so glad you came."

"Cher, its all water under the bridge. Come on, lets go get your luggage." We walked together and picked up the small suitcase I'd checked. We drove back and I caught up on all the Bon Temps gossip I'd missed out on. My friend Tara had gotten married, Hoyt and his girlfriend were engaged, Jane Bodehouse was still boozing it up on a nightly basis, and then there was Jason's baby which Sam actually thought might be his. I told Sam about my adventures in Japan, but after I had told him about the first month or so, he interrupted.

"Sookie, I have to ask. What happened with Bill?"

"Well, that's actually a great lead in to how I ended up in Norway. I caught Bill, having sex with someone he worked with, in our bed, so I threw him out."

"Good for you." Sam nodded his head and I smiled.

"So we were scheduled to go away together a couple of weeks after, but I decided to go anyway, and he did too, knowing that I'd go along and he could try to get us back together. I wasn't having it, and he spent two days stalking me around Osaka. Finally, on the third day, Eric interrupted him from his string of BS and took me out to dinner. I've been seeing him since then. We got engaged a few months ago."

"Well any enemy of Bill Compton is a friend of mine. You know, when he came back to the US, he came by the bar, asking if I'd heard from you. I threw his sorry ass out. As if I'd do anything to help him."

"Yea, Jason sent over a whole wad of letters that he had been sending me on my birthday. I threw them out. Didn't even read them. I just cut off all communication with him, and it felt damn good."

"So this Eric, tell me about him."

"You'll get to meet him next week. He's coming over to meet everyone and help me pack up Gran's house. I think you'll like him. He's pretty much perfect."

"Oh? Now Sook, no one is perfect."

I laughed. "Well, he just had a baby with his lesbian ex-fiancee, and has to travel for work, so I guess he's not perfect perfect. But he's perfect for me. He's from a great family and I don't even mind his ex."

"Well then I look forward to meeting Mr. Perfect for you." He smiled at me.

"How about you Sam, anyone in your life?"

"I'm actually seeing one of my new waitresses. Its nothing too serious, but I'll introduce you when you come by for your Burger Lafayette."

"Oh Lafayette! Is he still working there?"

"That boy will be there forever. He's got quite a following." He was a damn good cook, and a beautiful drag queen.

"I'll have to stop by just to see him." We pulled down Hummingbird Road, and I looked in awe at the old farmhouse that had been my home for so long.

"There it is, just as you left it. Hoyt put a couple of coats of paint on it though, it looks good."

"Yea, listen Sam, I'd invite you in, but I'm pretty tired. Thanks so much for the ride, and I'll give you a call tomorrow. Its so good to see you."

"You too Cher. Give me a call and I'll come pick you up for lunch."

"Night Sam." I waved goodbye and fished my key out from under the rock, where it had always been, and where Hoyt had left it for me. He and his new fiancee, Jessica had cleaned from top to bottom and the place looked great. I sat down at the old kitchen table and called Eric to let him know I'd landed safely.

"Hey Lover." He answered on the first ring.

"Hey you. How are my boys?"

"Surviving. I finally got to experience a full night of crying, like Pam's been talking about, which leads me to believe you are the key to a peaceful nights sleep. I think he misses you."

"I miss him too, and I miss you too. I'm just getting ready to go to bed here, its going to be lonely without you."

"I'll be there soon. What's the weather like? I don't need my coat and snow boots I'm assuming?"

"Nope, a light jacket will be more than enough. I drove home in just a sweater."

"How was your friend? He picked you up all right?"

"Yep, right on time. He's excited to meet you."

"I'm excited to meet everyone. Sorry Lover, I think he's crying hungry. I'll give you a call tomorrow. Love you."

"Night. Love you too."

I called Jason, who told me he was entertaining his baby momma and that he'd be over before noon. He also mentioned that the person who had put the offer in might be stopping by in the next couple of days. Since whoever it was agreed to a private sale, I had offered Jason the percentage that I would have paid an agent. I hadn't asked for any details. He had offered well over 25 percent over market value and that was what I was thinking about. All I knew was that Jason called him Al.

I took a bit of time to go through Gran's and my mother's jewelery that Hoyt had locked up for me, packed it into my suitcase, and crawled into my old bed, in one of Eric's dress shirts that I'd brought to sleep in. I lay there, for a few minutes, before I fell into a deep sleep.

Because of the time difference and the flight, I woke at the crack of dawn. I laughed, thinking that Gran had woke at at this time nearly every day for most of her life. I got up and went through the mail that Jason had gathered for me. There were a couple of letters that I assumed were from Bill from the handwriting. Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened one. It was exactly what I expected, him pleading for my forgiveness and love. I couldn't believe he'd still be so hung up on me, almost a whole year later, when it was him that had had no problem cheating on me, twice. I tossed the other one in the trash and sorted through the rest of the mail. I squealed when I pulled out my last months pay from Japan. I hadn't given them Eric's address, so they had sent it here, which was the address on all my paperwork.

Hoyt had left me some milk and cereal, so I made myself a quick breakfast and sat at the kitchen table, reading the rest of my mail in silence. It was weird, since my life in Norway was so busy and full of life to be spending a bit of time with nothing but my thoughts. I wondered what Eric was doing, and smiled at the idea of him trying to soothe a very cranky Jake with no success. He really was a great dad, and its not often you get to see what kind of father the man you plan to marry will be. He had thoroughly impressed me so far.

I had zoned out for a bit, when my peaceful morning was interrupted by a very large truck pulling up the driveway. I walked to the window, expecting Jason. Who I saw, leaned up against his company truck, ankles crossed, talking on his cell phone, rocked me to my very core.

Alcide Herveaux had come into my life like a storm, and every encounter we had ever had had left me feeling as tumultuous and turned upside down as any hurricane. He'd been my first, in bed and in love. We'd met when I applied for a summer job at his company's construction company the year before I went to university. I'd had it with being pawed over by Merlotte's patrons and wanted a change. I hadn't got the job, and continued to be pawed over at Merlotte's for the next four summers, but I had got an invitation for dinner. I'd broken up with Quinn the spring before, which was pretty mean, considering that I'd all but promised to give it up at his prom. We never spoke again, and I never had any regrets about that. I hadn't dated anyone since.

Dinner led to dancing at a bar, which led to drinks (thanks to my fake ID from one of Jason's girlfriends), which led to a very passionate makeout session in his truck. Alcide was handsome, a wall of a man, covered in muscles, with beautiful brown eyes and a mass of thick black hair. He'd dropped me off that night and I'd snuck in, hoping Gran wouldn't notice. He'd called me later that afternoon and he took me to a movie. We were on after that. After three weeks of dates and hanging out, and more fooling around, he took me to one of his family's company apartment and we went all the way. I remember being relieved that I wasn't going to go to university a virgin, and also how very painful it was. In the two years I'd dated Quinn, we'd never gone past heavy petting and a poorly executed handjob. I had no idea what I was doing. After I got over the initial pain of it all, Alcide was an excellent teacher. We spent that entire night doing everything, and had a great time doing it. I had my first real orgasm. It was a night to remember. We'd kept it going all summer, I'd snuck him into my room many a night, and we'd christened every surface of his work truck. We'd ended things when I started university, but started right back up the next summer, without missing a beat. I hadn't been with anyone else all year, so when I came home in May and saw him, leaned up against his truck just like he was now, I didn't have a chance.

We'd shared two more glorious summers, which extended to spring and winter vacations as well. I told him I loved him, over egg nog and rum at the Merlotte's New Year's eve party. He'd said it back, but then I didn't hear from him for months. When I came back that spring, he was seeing some Debbie girl, who hated my guts. After that, I started seeing Bill, who had been pursuing me since that fall.

The last time I'd seen Alcide was at Gran's funeral. He came and stood in the back and we didn't speak, but I saw him there. The time before that was when things got really complicated.

I found Lorena and Bill the week before spring break, and I'd told him not to call me, that I needed time to think, before I made any decisions. Gran had been diagnosed with cancer a few months earlier, so I spent the week with her. Alcide had heard from someone that she was sick, and he must have known it was my spring break, so he brought by a beautiful flower arrangement for her and asked me out for dinner. I was so pissed at Bill, that I went just to spite him at first, but we ended up having a great time, and after a few drinks, I ended up in the back of his extended cab truck. He was as good as I remembered.

I woke up the next morning, feeing sated, but a bit guilty. I hadn't really been broken up with Bill, and just because he had cheated, it didn't mean I had to swoop to his level. Later that afternoon, things got a whole lot worse, when Debbie, who hated me already, showed up at Gran's, threatening to kick my ass. Luckily Gran was pretty heavily medicated by that point and slept through our cat fight on the front yard. She threw one punch, but I grabbed her arm before it made contact and knocked her skinny ass down. It was then that I caught a glimpse of the ring on her finger. No wonder she was so upset. He hadn't even mentioned that they were still together, let alone engaged. Jason showed up and broke us up before things got too far, and I called Alcide later that night and gave him a piece of my mind. In hindsight, all that drama was probably what drove me back to Bill. He was boring, which was pretty much the opposite of what Alcide brought to the table. I'd forced him out of my mind after that, but here he was, threatening to break down the Herveaux wall I'd worked so hard to construct.

I peeked back out the window and saw his massive chest just as he was about to knock. I answered it, kind of out of shock, before I realized that I was standing there, in Eric's shirt, which barely covered my ass.

"Alcide, what the hell are you doing here?" I took a step back, trying to regain some personal space. He looked better than ever. Damn him.

"How much does a man have to offer on this house to get you to come back from China?" Al, of course. Fucking Jason.

"You want to buy Gran's house?" I pulled Eric's shirt down, trying to gain a bit of coverage from his roaming eyes.

"Well, I want you, and I figured offering to buy this house was my surest way to get you back here. Sookie Stackhouse, you are a sight for sore eyes."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Do you not remember anything about the last time we spoke?"

"Me and Debbie are over. We've been over for over a year now. I made a bad choice. The divorce went through six months ago. So tell me, what do I have to do to get you back in my truck." He winked, that formerly delicious wink, which now seemed a bit repulsive. "Now aren't you going to invite me in?" Great, play on my southern manners. I would never refuse to invite him into Gran's house. I was pretty sure I'd be making him sweet tea within the hour.

"Give me a minute." I slammed the door in his face and went to get dressed. I pulled on the frumpiest jeans that I could find, and one of Jason's old hoodies and took a minute to collect my thoughts, which was useless. He'd caught me totally off guard. I looked down at my engagement ring, willing it to give me the strength to get this man out of here, not that being engaged ever meant anything to him. It did mean something to me though.

I stormed back out, ready to give him a piece of my mind. I found him, looking comfortable on my old couch. Of course he would let himself in. "If you want to buy my house, then I'll sell it to you. If not, then I think you should leave. And I wasn't in China, I was in Japan, and now I'm in Norway. With my fiancee."

"That doesn't mean a thing to me. Now tell me what I have to do, and I'll do it." Alcide was not only thick in the chest, he was thick in the head as well.

"Did you just hear me? I'm getting married. And not to you."

"That's what you think." He looked at me, smug. "Sook, you know we're perfect for each other. Remember that night, in the back room at Merlotte's? Now don't tell me that wasn't the best sex of your life."

Damnit, I thought back on it, and it was great, and it probably was and would have been if Eric hadn't come along. Our first night together, in that hotel room, with the hours of buildup, had given me a new target to aspire to, which we had certainly surpassed several times, the most recent of which was New Years Eve. Now that had been the best sex of my life. "No, I've had better since. Maybe you should talk to Jason about buying the house, that is, if you are actually interested."

Alcide snorted at the notion that anything could top that night."Oh, I am interested. The woodlot in the back is near maturity, which will make me a lot of money in a few years. But really Sook, the only reason I looked into it was you. I mean it, I'll do whatever you want."

"And I just told you, I'm not interested."I crossed my arms, and did my best uninterested stance. Those eyes though, and that mouth. The things he used to do with that mouth. Focus Stackhouse, focus on your wonderful, gorgeous, fucktastic fiancee, who didn't screw you, then screw you over multiple times. Yep, totally not interested.

"You're really going to marry some European? Now that's not the Louisiana girl I know and love." As if he knew anything about love. He'd told me he loved me, never called, and ended up with Debbie Pelt two months later.

"Don't you throw around that love word with me. Fuck you Alcide, I think its time you left."

"I'll leave, but I'll be back. Your brother said you're around for a couple of weeks, which means I have two weeks to convince you to stay." He gave me a pouty look that would have melted my 18 year old heart, but didn't do much for my 27 year old one.

"No you don't. Eric's coming in 5 days, and there will be no convincing me of anything, but to sell you this house." My resolve was building by the minute. He had aged well, but I didn't care. He was still a lowdown, cheating, lying, asshole, and I was pretty sure those were character traits and not about to change anytime soon. He got up and I walked him to the door, slamming it behind him. I was so mad that I didn't even offer to make him sweet tea.

Jason showed up an hour later and I reamed him out for not telling me who wanted to buy the house.

"Sook, he just wanted to buy the house. I forgot you two had some sort of thing. He was offering good money." He didn't forget or he would have called him Alcide, not Al. No one called him Al. "Besides, what would be wrong with you moving closer. You could live in Shreveport with him. Its a big city."

I looked at him, thinking he'd lost his mind."Jason, I have a fiancee. I live in Norway now, with said fiancee. I'm not moving back, which is why I wanted to sell the house. I'm really very happy."

"But he's got a good job, comes from a good family. He used to play football in college Sook."

"Jason, you don't get it. I have a life there, a very full one. Even if I didn't, I wouldn't move back here and marry Alcide. He's an asshole."

"He's not that bad. Anyway, I wish you'd just think about it."

I rolled my eyes. "Why would I think about it?"

"I dunno, Sook, you're from here. Don't you ever miss it?"

I hadn't really missed it since Gran died. I lied though, for Jason's sake. "I miss you Jase, but I'm not going to move back. I'm really not."

"Well just think about it. You could do worse than Alcide. He's a real step up from that Bill asshole."

And I had done better than Alcide too. "You'll like Eric, Jason. He's really great."

"I'm sure he thinks he's all fancy, with his travelling and being European." Jason was so incredibly insecure, it was really sad.

"Anyway, I've had enough of this conversation. Its not happening. Now Sam will be here in a few minutes to pick me up. You're welcome to join us for lunch, but I don't want to hear any more of this. I'm a big girl Jason, and I've made my decision." As if on cue, Sam pulled in the driveway. "You coming Jason?"

"Let me run home and get Crystal and I'll meet you there."

I hopped in Sam's truck and gave him a hug. "Good timing, Jason was just trying to convince me to marry Alcide Herveaux and move to Shreveport with him."

"That no good cheating bastard? How did he come up with that?"

"Turns out he was the one who put the offer in on my house. He came by this morning, asking me what it would take for me to take him back. He put the offer in to entice me to come back from China."

Sam smiled. "Weren't you in Japan?"

I smiled back. "Yes. You'd think he'd a done his homework before busting into my house at 9am and trying to win me back."

"I heard he divorced that bitch Debbie a while back. They didn't last long."

"Remember when we fought on my front yard?"

"You had bruises for days, but she looked worse."

"She needed stitches." I shook my head at the memory. "That seems like a million years ago."

"Sure does. I asked Tara for lunch too, I thought you might want to see her."

"Thanks Sam. I feel so awful about cutting everyone out because of Bill."

"Its hard to see the forest for the trees Sook. He was there for you during a difficult time. No one holds it against you."

We walked in, and I wasn't surprised that Merlotte's was exactly how I remembered it, right down to Jane Bodehouse sitting on the barstool from noon on. I squealed when I saw Lafayette, standing beside the pool table.

"Damn girl, you is lookin' good!" He came up and gave me a big hug. "Our little Sookie is all grown up."

"Its only been a couple of years Laf. You look good too." And he did. The purple eyeliner really accentuated his eyes. I'd heard it was a good alternative to black, but I hadn't tried it yet.

"So where is your man? Sam said you were engaged to some Swede?"

"He's from Norway, and yes, we are engaged. He'll be here in 5 days."

"Well you go on with your bad self."

We sat down for lunch, and Sam introduced us to his new waitress and girlfriend, Holly, who I'd known in high school. Tara joined us a few minutes later, and I squealed again when I saw that she was sporting a bit of a baby bump. She'd married JB, a friend of ours from High School.

Jason, and a very sour looking girl, who could have gotten some great makeup tips from Lafayette, walked in and pulled up a couple of chairs to our booth.

"Sook, this is Crystal."

"Hi its nice to meet you." I put my hand out to shake it, and she reluctantly handed hers over.

She was as sweet as sugar. Well, more like artificial sugar, the kind that's been known to cause cancer in rats. "Nice to meet you too. Jason's told me so much about you."

"All good things I hope."

"Yea, like how you've been livin' in China and all that." She smacked her gum. Jason sure knew how to pick em'.

"So when's the baby due?"

"Round the end of June." Smack. "Jason's gonna buy me a ring, once he gets the money from your house." She looked down at mine and rolled her eyes. "That's a nice one, a bit flashy for my taste."

"Ain't she great Sook?"

I gave Jason the most genuine smile I could muster. "You're a lucky man, Jason Stackhouse." Lucky if this baby is actually yours.

Luckily, I was saved from any further conversation from Jason's baby momma, by the arrival of our food. I dug into my burger, which tasted like heaven. Tara told me all about her store, and I promised to stop by and check out the clothes she was selling. She always did have fabulous taste.

We sat around for a few hours, until the dinner crowd started coming in and Sam had to go. I noticed my old friend Arlene, who I'd spend hours babysitting for when I was younger come in for her shift, and went to greet her.

"Well look what the cat dragged in. Sookie Stackhouse."

"Hi Arlene." I gave her a hug, which she weakly reciprocated.

"Hi Sug. I haven't seen you since you got too big for this small down and headed off to China."

I chose to ignore her dig. "You look great. How are the kids?"

"Oh they're getting big. Sure has been hard to find a babysitter since you took off though."

Sam nodded that he was ready to take me home, so I wrapped it up. "Well, its been nice seeing you. I'll probably be back while I'm here, so I'll see you again."

"Ok Sug. Whoa, hold on a minute there." She grabbed my hand, examining my engagement ring. "What's this all about?"

"Oh, I'm engaged, I'm living in Norway now."

"Well aren't you fancy. That's a pretty big ring."

"Thanks? Well, I have to go Arlene. I'll see you around."

"Ok then."

We got into Sam's truck. "Don't worry about her, she's a bit bitter since her third husband left her."

"Thanks Sam." We sat in silence as we pulled up to Gran's house.

"When's your Eric coming? Do you want me to drive you down to meet him in New Orleans?"

"He'll be here on Monday." I had thought of asking Jason, but with his Alcide interference, it thought that Sam might be a better person for him to meet first. "I'd really appreciate that."

"Well you call me with the time his flight gets in and we'll figure out all that. Have a good night Cher, and call if you need anything."

"Night Sam." I walked up to the front door and let myself in.


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's the next chapter! Thanks for all the love on the last one...I'm going back to work tomorrow, so I can't promise the frequent updates I've been putting out, but I'll do my best! I didn't realize that I left an inadvertent cliffie on the last chapter, there was no one behind the door, I'll tell you now, so you aren't looking for it. Keep the reviews coming! **

***

Eric

It had been three days, three long, sleepless days and nights, when Pam finally came by to give me some relief. I'd agreed, to keep Jake for an extra day, somewhere in my sleepless insanity, because she had an appointment with her thesis advisor, which had turned into drinks.

She showed up at about 9am, looking refreshed, clean, and rested. Three things that I hadn't looked like since Sookie left.

I handed him over. "How's my boy?" She cooed at him, and he cooed right back. She looked over at me and laughed. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, Pam. he's been a bit colicky, I took him to the doctor yesterday."

"Thanks for keeping him. The beard looks good on you." Was she kidding? I was too tired to tell if she was being sarcastic or not. I hadn't shaved since Sookie left.

"Yea? How about the spit up on my t-shirt?"

"Battle scars my friend, battle scars. Anyway, let's go Jake, and let Daddy get some sleep. Will we see you before you head for Hickstown, USA?"

"Pam, its Bon Temps. Yea, I'll stop by before I go."

"Sweet dreams." I kissed Jakob and closed the door. I crawled to the couch and went to sleep. I had a little less than two days before I had to get on a plane, and I didn't want to look like a bag of assholes when Sookie picked me up at the airport.

I drifted off to sleep, and I have no idea how long I was out for when I heard my phone ringing. I reached behind the couch and grabbed my cell off the end table.

"Hello." I mumbled.

"Hey Big Daddy, how's it going?"

"Pam just picked him up. I haven't slept in days."

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd be sleeping." Her voice sounded a little sad.

"I'm glad you called. How's Louisiana?"

"Eh, I'll be glad when you get here. Its been, well, draining." Draining like a four month old baby for three days? I somehow doubted it.

"Well, I'll be there soon. What are you doing?"

"I'm going through all the family silver and cleaning it. Gran would be furious if she saw how tarnished it all was. I guess I'll have to split it with Jason, although I don't want that whore getting ahold of it." She spat out the last part. Ah yes, the baby momma. Baby momma drama was probably the only thing Jason Stackhouse and I had in common, besides his sister of course.

"Why don't you take a little break. What are you wearing?" I was pretty much awake now. We hadn't spent time apart in months. I hadn't had time to even think about sex since she left, but hearing her voice, and her fiery comment about Jason's baby momma had me thinking back to when she tore a strip off Bill, right before we slept together for the first time. Angry Sookie, even across the ocean, had the ability to get me pretty riled up.

She was quiet for a moment, then she responded quietly. "Your shirt. The blue one with the pinstripes. I threw it in my bag right before I left. What are you wearing?" She sounded a bit hesitant, but I was confident I could get her into it. I don't know why we hadn't done this before. I guess it would have been awkward with Amelia in the next room with the paper thin walls, although she didn't seem to have a problem with hearing us when I was there.

Imagining her sitting around in my shirt, running her little hands up and down that silver cutlery was really working for me. Somehow, I didn't think a dirty grey t-shirt with spit on on the shoulder would be a great visual, so I embellished a bit. "Just my blue loungepants." It wasn't a total lie, although I would hazard to guess that she wasn't picturing me wearing them for the past three days, which I had.

"Where are you?"

"On the couch." I looked around and the room was a disaster area. I'd have to clean before I left. "Where are you?"

"I just crawled into my bed. Its a bit cold in here." I had a bit of a visual on the bedroom from some pictures she'd shown me.

"Well, Lover, if I was there, I'd warm you up." I slowly reached down my pants, hoping she was following my lead.

The hesitation was still there, but was even less than before. "What would you do?"

"First, I would unbutton your shirt and run my hands all over your perfect breasts, to warm them up of course. Then, I'd take them in my mouth, one at a time, until they were even warmer. Are they hard Lover, from the cold?"

Her breathing sounded a bit ragged and I knew I had her. "Yes."

"Well then you should warm them up for me, since I can't be there. Can you do that for me?"

She let out a little moan, and replied with a whispered, "Yes."

I moved my hand a little further down, and began to stroke myself, imagining it was her hot little hand wrapped around me. "Tell me what you're doing."

Silence. After a couple of minutes, she answered back, still a bit breathless. "I just ran my hands over my breasts, like you do, and then I just pinched them."

"Good girl." I increased my pace a bit. "You want to know what I'd do next?"

"Yes."

"I'd slide my hand down a bit further, but I'd keep one on your breasts. Keep pinching them a bit, just like I do. Now I'd take my other hand, and slide it into your underwear. What underwear are you wearing Lover?"

"Navy blue boyshorts, the ones with the little bow." I knew those well.

"Nice. I like those. Now like I was saying before, slide your hand down, inside them. Now I would slide a couple of fingers inside you, to see if I've done a good job. Have I? Are you wet Lover?"

"Yes."

"Now I wish I was there even more then." This was a good call. It sure as hell beat jerking off in the shower later, which probably would have been on the agenda. "I want you to take your finger and rub your clit. Keep two fingers inside you and use your thumb. Is your hand still on your breast? Tell me how it feels."

"Yes, yes, it feels good."

"You do like that." And I liked the way she was whimpering and moaning through the phone. I stifled a groan as I felt my release grow closer. "Now keep it up, a little faster now."

"Oh Eric." Fuck, I loved it when she cried out my name. It was almost hotter, since I wasn't even there, but not quite as hot as having her writhing underneath me.

"Now I want you to cum for me Lover. Are you ready?"I knew she was. We'd had enough mind-blowing sex that it was pretty easy for me to read her whimpers and moans. I never understood why some men were selfish in bed. It was a real ego boost having a woman scream out your name and really mean it. She cried out my name, and I followed her, making a real mess of my pants and already stained t-shirt. I needed to take a shower and do some laundry desperately. That was certainly the best part of my day, actually probably the best part of the three days since she'd left.

We both lay there, silent for a moment, until I heard her giggle. "Well that was certainly an improvement on my day."

"Agreed. One more whole day, and I'll be there in person. After that, I'm looking forward to it even more than before." I heard a man's voice call out her name.

"Shit, just a minute Eric, someone's here." I heard her moving about, getting dressed, I imagined.

And then the yelling began. "You mother fucker, you just let yourself in again? Haven't you heard of knocking? You haven't bought this house yet."

"I knocked and you didn't answer." I smirked, pleased that I had her so distracted that she didn't answer the door for whoever was there. "And the door was unlocked." Wow, I guess I really did have her distracted.

"What the hell do you want?" I loved it when she got feisty. Maybe I could bump my ticket up and leave tomorrow.

"I wanted to take you out for a nice dinner. Like old times Sook. Maybe I can show you some of the new features in my truck. I remember how much you liked the last one." What. The. Fuck. Who the hell was that? It certainly wasn't Bill.

"Alcide, get the fuck out of here. I told you, I'm not interested."

"And I told you, that I'd do whatever it took to get you back. So here I am, and I'm not taking no for an answer. I'll sit out in your driveway all night, if that's what it takes."

I walked into my office and turned my computer on. I sat there, a bit pissed off that she hadn't mentioned anything about this. We'd talked every night. I changed my ticket to leave tomorrow at 9am.

"Alcide, its over. It's been over for a long time. How can I get it through your thick skull. I'm in love with someone else. We're happy. Now get the fuck out."

"I'll leave, but I'm bringing back dinner." I heard her slam the door.

"Are you still there?" She picked up the phone.

"What the fuck was that?" I was upstairs packing.

"Ex-boyfriend. He's the one who made the offer on the house. I was going to tell you once you got here, I knew you had a lot on the go with Jake. I didn't want you to worry."

"I changed my flight. I'll be there tomorrow night."

"You don't have to do that. I know how to handle him."She mumbled her response. I was pissed off at the idea of him bringing her back dinner.

"You've been there for four days and he's still bothering you? That doesn't sound like handling him to me Lover. It sounds more like he's pursuing you, and I'm the only one who gets to do that. I've already changed it. I get in at 6pm tomorrow."

She sighed, but I thought I sensed a bit of relief in her voice, but it may have been aggravation. "Fine, Eric. Sam had offered to drive me down and pick you up, but I'll have to see if Jason will do it, since dinner time is when Sam's busy. If he can't I'll have to rent a car."

"I can find my own way there, or I can get a connector flight to Shreveport. You don't have to drive all the way down."

"No, I want to come meet you. You'll get a shitty connection to Shreveport. Text me your flight information."

"Ok, I sent it. I'll see you tomorrow." I felt like I was being a bit of a douche, since she said she could handle it, but I didn't care. She was too nice, and it sounded like this guy was really trying to work his way into her pants. Again. I thought about how I would feel if I ever lost her and the lengths I would go to to win her back, and I knew exactly what this Alcide was thinking. That motivation was what I used to clean the house, do some laundry, shower, but not shave (the beard was kind of growing on me), and drive over to say goodbye to Jake, even though I was physically exhausted.

Pam opened the door, the picture of domesticity with Jake on her hip, gurgling happily. "I thought you were leaving in a couple of days?"

"Change of plans. Her ex is the one who wants to buy her house. He was over there when she called me."

"So, you changed your ticket and you're leaving now?" Pam looked at me critically, like I'd lost my mind.

"Well, I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 9am."

"Did Sookie ask you to come early?"

"Well no, I kind of insisted, after hearing their conversation. He's trying to get her back Pam."

"And you think she's dumb enough to fall for it? Don't you think she deserves a little more credit than that? After all she's stuck by you for?"

Damn Pam. She had a point. "I already changed my ticket."

"Well you better make damn sure you don't come off like a total ass when you get there, because you sure sound like one now."

"She'll be happy to see me." I thought back to our little phone rendezvous. "I'll pick her up some flowers at the airport."

"I hope you know what you're doing Northman. Sleep deprivation does strange things to people." She stood there, waiting for me to think about what I was doing.

I hoped I knew what I was doing too. I was walking on thin ice here, charging in and trying to take over a situation that she told me she had under control. She'd never tried to interfere in my relationship with Pam, which was far more complex than some ex she'd never even mentioned. what the hell was I doing, butting into her relationship when she hadn't asked me to?

"Fuck Pam. What the hell do I do here?"

"First, you need to apologize. Second, you better pick up something more than flowers. You need to go over there and be the best possible version of yourself, so she'll forget you were such an ass."

"Can you come help me find something for her?"

Pam sighed. "Fine, but I hope you have your credit card ready. Come on Jake, let's go get Daddy out of the dog house." I stood by the door, cursing myself for being such an idiot, while Pam got her and Jake ready to go. She was probably as nervous as I had been for her to meet my people, and I'd already fucked it up, before I even got on the plane by being a jealous ass.

"Ready to go?" She looked at me and snapped me out of my daze.

We left Pam's condo around 7, which means we had two hours to shop until everything closed. For her troubles, I bought her dinner. Finally, after a few hours of searching, and a new dress for Pam later, I settled on a watch. It was small, classic, and elegant, and I knew she didn't have one, and she was always checking her cellphone for the time. Pam was probably a bad person to shop with, because she dragged me into Cartier to look for one, as soon as I suggested a watch. I remembered to the time I'd ended up here with Dad, when I was a kid, and laughed to myself, figuring he was probably in a similar situation with Mom to end up here.

I took Pam and Jake home and finished packing and tried to get a few hours of sleep before I had to leave for the airport. I sent Sookie a text, trying to gage her anger level, but she left it at a simple 'love you', which really didn't tell me anything.

I got a few hours sleep, and then got up and cleaned a bit more, and sent out some work emails, before calling a cab to go to the airport.

I knew I was really exhausted, because I actually slept for most of the flight. For once, I got in about twenty minutes early, so I went in search of some flowers, just in case.


	18. Chapter 18

**I know I said I'd slow down with the updates, but I already had this written and you all reviewed the last one, so here you go! Thanks for all the love, and keep the reviews coming!**

***

Sookie

Damn Eric, with his macho attitude. I had never seen that side of him before, unless you count businessman Eric, who, I had to admit kind of turned me on. I did, however, much prefer blue eyed Eric, to the green eyed monster that took it upon himself to change his flight because he was jealous. He should have trusted that I had the situation with Alcide under control, which I did, even though he'd showed up and let himself in multiple times since the first day. I'd always convinced him to leave after a bit, when he realized that that night wasn't going to be the night I gave in and cheated on my fiancee. It was a bit exhausting though, since it took at least an hour of saying no to get him out the door each time.

When he got back with dinner, I had conveniently called Sam to join us, and since it was a slow night, he came right over. We spent an awkward night, as I watched the two of them engage in some sort of pissing contest over me, even though I wasn't interested in either of them, and Sam had a girlfriend. Finally, Sam outlasted Alcide, who had to work in the morning, and I sent him on his way as soon as Alcide had cleared my driveway. I called Jason, who reluctantly agreed to drive me to New Orleans to pick up Eric, but insisted on bringing Crystal with us, which meant we were going to all have to fit in Jason's truck on the way back. He had an extended cab, but it was one of the ones with the two folding down seats in the back, and I laughed, picturing Eric jammed into one of them. Served him right though, if he had of waited one more day, we could have rode back in comfort in Sam's Jeep, which was actually made for four people.

I went to bed, but before I did, I grabbed my grandfather's Tiffany cufflinks, which were one of his most prized possessions, and stuck them in my purse, so I'd know right where they were. As a farmer, he really had no need for such an expensive pair, but I remembered Gran telling me that she had bought them for him as a wedding gift, and he had worn them on their wedding day. Gran had told me that she wanted me to give them to my husband, a few weeks before she died, since she wasn't going to be there to see me get married. I choked up a bit, remembering our last few hours together. I wanted Eric to have them for our wedding day. Jason would never have the need for them, besides, he had been proclaiming since he was sixteen that if he ever got married it would be in a tuxedo t-shirt at a barbecue, and I was pretty sure that there was no place for cufflinks on a t-shirt, no matter how fancy it was.

Since it was a five hour drive, we left around 11am, so we'd have the chance to stop for lunch, which I had told Jason I'd buy. I'd also promised to pay for the gas. When I thought about it, it would have been smarter and probably cheaper for me to just rent a car, and less stressful, since I wouldn't have to listen to Crystal and Jason fight and make up every 10 minutes.

I managed to fall asleep between screaming matches for a bit, and at about two, Jason pulled into an Olive Garden for lunch.

"Great restaurant pick Crystal." I figured if she was going to be my nephew or niece's mother, then I should at least try to be nice to her. I really hoped they'd be broken up by the wedding. I really did like Olive Garden, and there was nothing comparable in Japan or Norway, so I was totally up for some endless salad and breadsticks.

"I really like the bread and salad, and with being pregnant, I'm always hungry. I wish there was one closer than Monroe. I'd make Jason take me all the time." She smiled at me. It was the most positive interaction we had to date.

We had a fairly pleasant lunch, with only one fight breaking out when Jason told Crystal that she was getting fatter by the day, and I totally took her side on that one, when she smacked him for it. There are lots of nice ways to note that someone is pregnant, and fatter is not one of them, but no one ever said Jason was good with his words. I had wanted to smack him a time or two this week too. After Jason put the endless salad to the test, we got back in his truck and continued on our way.

Driving for long distances had a similar effect that flying did for me, and I slept for most of the next three hours. I smiled as I heard Crystal say to Jason that I wasn't the stuck up bitch that he'd made me out to be, when she thought I was sleeping.

Finally, after a long drive, a very cramped me peeled myself out of the back of Jason's truck. I almost fell when I got out, because my legs were so asleep. Once again Crystal surprised me by catching me before I hit the ground. We all walked into the airport, Crystal still smacking her gum.

I saw Eric, looking exhausted, sitting on a bench, before he saw me. I smiled, seeing the bouquet of flowers sitting beside him. He didn't notice me right away, probably because he was exhausted, so I took the opportunity to see what I'd been missing for the past four days. He was as gorgeous as he was when I left him, in dark jeans and a navy v-neck sweater, but he'd added some sort of weird half-grown beard to the mix. Men left to their own devices I guess. I smiled as he picked up his head and saw me, and a huge smile came over his face. Jason and Crystal were bickering over dinner, so I ignored them a little longer and headed over to meet him halfway.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry about yesterday." He wrapped me in his arms. I wasn't really that mad, and now that he was actually here, I wasn't mad at all. "I should have just let you handle it and stuck to the schedule, but by the time I realized that, I'd already booked my ticket. I don't know why I thought you'd have any trouble handling him, especially after I saw you take Bill down a notch, and then got him deported. These are for you." He handed over the flowers.

That was a pretty solid apology. "I'm not really mad, but you need to get some sleep. No sleep turns you into a jealous jerk." I ran my hand over the beard. "And what's this?"

"Its my dad beard. What do you think?" He stroked it and I laughed.

"I think its, interesting." I giggled, as he wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tight.

Crystal's gum smacking alerted me to hers and Jason's approach. "Jason, why don't you ever get me flowers?" She smacked him, continuing to smack her gum. Eric looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Damn woman, I bought you groceries last week!"

"That's not the same." I was with Crystal on that one.

"Jason, Crystal, this is my fiancee (emphasis on the fiancee for Jason), Eric. Eric, this is my brother Jason, and his girlfriend Crystal."

Jason grumbled. "Nice to meet you." and reached out his hand, which Eric, promptly took.

I looked over at Crystal, who was taking her sweet time eyeing my man up and down. I shot Eric a look and he shrugged. "Well, I guess we should get back. Eric's probably tired." And is going to be a hell of a lot more tired after listening to five hours of these two, cramped in the back of a truck.

Smack. "Jason, I'm hungry again."

"Woman, we just ate three hours ago."

"Jason, we can stop at a drive-thru on the way out of the city. Eric, are you hungry?"

"I could go for a burger, if everyone wants to stop."

"Ok, then, but we don't have fancy European burgers here." Jason was such an ass.

"Jason, they have McDonald's in Norway. It tastes the same everywhere." I looked at Eric and rolled my eyes. He shrugged and smiled at me. I couldn't help but laugh as Eric folded himself into the seat behind Crystal. He looked a bit like he was in a clown car. Once he was situated, he gave me a weak thumbs up.

We pulled through a drive-thru and Eric was nice enough to treat everyone to dinner. Jason made some comment under his breath about him throwing his money around, and Crystal promptly smacked him for it.

The rest of the drive home was pretty uneventful, after Crystal fell asleep and Jason cranked the country music.

When we finally arrived in Bon Temps around 11, I don't think you could have paid Eric to get back into a truck again. We said our goodnights to Jason, and I thanked him heartily for the drive.

The moon was high in the sky, as I led Eric up the porch steps and in the front door. "So this is where you're from. What a great house." I smiled at him, as he looked around, taking everything in.

"Yep, it was pretty great, but I'm ready to let it go. Come on, I'll give you a quick tour, and then you should get some sleep." I walked him around, and showed him everything, from the post in the backroom that gran had notched mine and Jason's height on every year to the back steps where I'd fallen and broke my ankle. I ended the tour in my old bedroom. "So here's my room. Its only a double bed, so we'll have to snuggle up."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." I eyed him up and down, as he stripped down, and I caught him watching me in the moonlight as well. When he was undressed, he pulled me onto his lap. "So I'm here in person tonight." He raised his eyebrows as I moved myself to straddle him.

"I see you were flying in comfort today." I remarked, taking in his lack of underwear.

"Always Lover, always." I pulled myself close to him, as he reached behind me and unsnapped my bra. I gasped, as his cold hands met my warm flesh.

"You know, you're much better in person, and that says a lot because last night was pretty amazing." I moaned, as he took one breast in his mouth, while he teased the other one between two fingers.

I moved forward, catching his mouth in mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to me. I laughed, as his beard tickled my face. "I'm not sure about that thing. Its pretty ticklish."

"Give it a chance. Its not finished yet." He smirked at me, and I knew he wasn't giving it up without a fight.

I pushed him down on the bed, and lowed myself between his legs. I slowly took him in my mouth, watching his reactions in the moonlight. "Oh, fuck, you're much better in person too." He moaned, as I hummed my reply. His faced twitched and I smirked as he clenched his eyes shut in pleasure.

I decided to pull a play from his book."None of that. Look at me." He met my eyes, as I slid my mouth down as much of his length as I could. He let out a groan and I knew I had him. I smiled and winked at him, and skipped off to the bathroom to spit. I'd always spat, something about swallowing seemed so, unnecessary. I'd never had anyone complain, not that they were in any position to, after receiving a blow job.

When I returned, Eric was just as I left him, in a state of bliss. "Now that was worth changing my flight for right there. Come here." He pulled me onto the bed, and faster than I thought possible, he had thrown my underwear god knows where, and had buried himself in between my legs. I let out a loud moan, as he started his own rendition of last night's phone performance, inserting a couple of fingers into me, but playing the part of my thumb tonight was his mouth, which blew my thumb out of the water. I felt my eyes roll back in my head, as I succumbed to his talents. "Lover, two can play your game. Look at me." I did, and he shot me a wink, as he used his thumb a bit differently than I had, using it to push up against another entrance. I came, instantly, and cried out, as the feeling of a very different orgasm rocked through me.

"I really caught you off guard with that, didn't I Lover? I have to make sure you'll always prefer me in person." He smirked, that delicious smirk.

"That was, wow."I laid there, as he slid up to join me, kissing me deeply, as I attempted to catch my breath. "Wow."

"I do have a few tricks up my sleeve." He pulled me into him, wrapping an arm around my waist. We laid there for a few minutes, and then got up to do our bathroom stuff before we went to bed.

I reached for my toothbrush, and he laughed as he reached in his bag. "I actually forgot my toothbrush. No jokes."

"Well, I guess since you were kind enough to share yours, then I could share mine." I finished, spit, rinsed it and handed it over, while I washed my face. I watched as he finished, rinsed it off and set it beside the sink, then moved to used the washroom. I watched out of the corner of my eye, smiling as he absentmindedly peed. Oh the joys of true intimacy. I moved to walk past him, but not before giving his delicious butt a little squeeze. I hopped into bed, pulling on the t-shirt he had under his sweater and pulled back the blankets to wait for him.

He came in few minutes later, looking a bit solemn. "Sookie, I know I already said this, but I need to say it again. I'm really sorry about coming here like I did. You were so accepting and understanding of the Pam situation, leaving me to handle it, and here I go and get all uppety and flying across the ocean when you say you are handling it."

"Well, if I had of thought of it like that, instead of feeling like you just needed to be here for five minutes and see that you had nothing to worry about, I might have been a little madder. Besides, how could I be angry with you after that."

"I bought you something, when I thought I'd really blown it."

"You didn't have to do that." My jaw dropped a bit as he pulled out a Cartier box. I really forgot how little money meant to him, because he usually bought me plane tickets or practical things, like my winter coat as gifts. "Eric, this was totally not necessary."

"I know that now, I just really wanted you to know that I was sorry, and it was pretty hard to express it from all the way in Norway." I opened up the box and found the most beautiful watch I'd ever seen.

"Eric, its gorgeous, but I don't want you spending money on me like this." He smiled as he put it on my wrist.

"I know you don't, which is part of the reason I don't mind doing it. It looks perfect."

We lay there for a few minutes, and I saw his eyes glazing over. "You need to go to sleep. I love you."

"I love you too." He mumbled, as he fell into sleep. I took my watch, which probably cost much more than my first car, off and put it back in the box.

***

Eric

When I woke up the next morning, I rolled over to find Sookie gone. I stretched, marvelling in the wonders of a full-nights sleep. I check the time on my phone, smiling when I saw it was almost noon. I'd slept for almost twelve hours. Twelve glorious hours. I felt better than I had in days. I sat up, and set my feet on the floor, and went to my bag and fished out a pair of sweatpants I'd brought with me.

I was so relieved that she wasn't furious with me when I got here. She probably should have been, she had every right to be, but she'd pretty much forgiven me instantly, and I wasn't going to make her regret that decision. Like Pam said, the best version of myself was what she was going to get, for the rest of the week.

I walked past the bathroom door, and smiled when I heard Sookie's normal morning serenade, which ranged from Britney Spears to the Beatles, but was always marvellously out of tune and only made louder by the shower acoustics. The steam was pouring out from underneath the door and I was contemplating joining her for a duet when I heard the doorknob turn, and then open. I peeked my head around the corner and saw a large man, with dark hair, holding a bag which smelled like food and a large bouquet of irises and lilies, which I knew Sookie liked, but not as much as hydrangeas. No time like the present I guess. I turned the corner, not quite sure what to expect.

"Who the fuck are you?" he dropped the food and flowers on the table and turned to face me. He was broader than me, but I was pretty sure I had a reach advantage, and about four inches on him.

"I'm Sookie's fiancee. Who the fuck are you?"

"You're her fiancee? The fuckin' European?" He laughed. "I'm the guy that's going to make her forget all about you." Who the hell was this asshole? Who actually said things like that out loud? Wait, I knew exactly who he was.

"You must be Alcide." What the hell had she seen in him? "Why did you just let yourself in? That's pretty rude."

"The lock's broken." What kind of a reason was that?

"I think you should leave." I did my most intimidating stance, which probably would have worked on most, but didn't have him backing down. This guy was thick. Thinking he could come in here and play house with my Sookie. Fuck that. This whole Louisiana business was really bringing out the worst in me.

"And what if I don't. What are you going to do about it?" Where the hell did she find this guy?

I watched, pretty surprised as he came towards me aggressively. Did he really want to throw down? What the hell kind of town was this? I ducked as he threw a punch. I guess we were going to throw down. I jumped on him immediately, knocking him to the ground, where I knew his bulk would put him at a disadvantage.

I thought back to my childhood, when I'd been a tall, lanky boy, with a weird Norwegian/English accent, and I'd been beaten up by Lars, the school bully. It was after that that Mom insisted I join the local martial arts club down the street, where'd I'd learned a variety of different fighting styles, including jujutsu, which I was currently using to pin Alcide here, into submission. I hadn't had to use them in many years, but you never forget. I'd just kneed him in the gut, which got quite a reaction, when I heard Sookie behind us.

"What the hell is going on here?" I turned around and as I did, Alcide smoked me in the eye. That wasn't going to be pretty. "Alcide, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"I came to bring you breakfast." He grunted, as I attempted to pin his arm back down.

"And then you got in a fight with my fiancee? Really? Get up, both of you. Get up!" We stood up, and I couldn't help but grin at his bloody lip.

"Alcide, I really do think its time for you to leave, and I meant it all the other times, and I really mean it now." Her hands went to her hips. She meant business.

"He gets to stay?" He glared at me.

"I'm marrying him, so yes. Although, I'm pissed off at you too." She glared at me, as she picked up a vase off of the floor. "Alcide, you know where the door is, you seem to keep letting yourself in." He looked at her, pulling out his best pout, which she immediately shut down. "Now."

She glared at me, as I stood there, waiting for her reaction, my chest smeared in his blood, and sighed, as she went to the fridge and pulled out an ice cube tray, filled a towel with cubes and handed it to me. "Put that on your eye. You are a father for Christ's sake. Fighting in my living room? Really? Pam's going to love this." She shook her head.

"He threw the first punch."

"I don't want to hear it. Now you have to walk around with a black eye all week. Sit down, and let me look at that." I sat down on the couch, as she checked my eye and the bruise that was forming on my cheek. I was relieved, but then a little scared as she started to laugh. "You know, that's pretty much how I imagined that would go, worst case scenario."

"That guy is an asshole." I realized that Sookie had him more under control than I ever could. He was fucking crazy.

"You don't think I know that?" She shook her head, still laughing. "Eric, Alcide was fun at 18, but by 22, I was way past his ridiculousness. Did you really think you had anything to worry about?"

"I guess not."

"Eric, when was the last time you got in a fight?"

"Tenth grade. And it was over Pam."

She laughed. "I'm not surprised. You want to know when the last time I got in a fight was?"

I looked at her surprised. "Yea, I really do."

"Summer 2005. With Alcide's fiancee, now ex-wife."

"Now that's a story I'd like to hear."

"Well I was going to tell it even if you didn't. It was right after Bill cheated on me, the first time. I came home, and Alcide took me out to dinner, and drinks, and then one thing led to another, and we ended up reliving old times in the back of his truck. Well the next day, his crazy bitch of a girlfriend, who he said he was broken up with, but by broken up with, he clearly meant engaged to, came over and threw a punch. Growing up with Jason taught me a thing or two about scrapping and kicked her ass, but about ten minutes after it was all over, after Jason pulled me off her, and my blind rage wore off, I realized that Alcide was fucking crazy. I hadn't talked to him since, until I came back this time, and he didn't really give me a choice."

"Wow, I hadn't pegged you for a scrapper."

"You either." She smirked. "Anyway, the moral of the story here, is that we are both better than that, or I like to think we are. So let's be better than that."

"Ok, no more fighting. I promise."

"Good. Now go wash his blood off you. Your punishment is that I already had my shower, and not only did you not get to join me, but this house also has a tiny hot water heater, so you better make it quick."

I trudged off to the shower and was quick to wash the blood and soap off my body before the hot water ran out, which it did a little more than five minutes after I got in. I grumbled good naturedly as I rinsed off as quickly as possible and hopped out, my teeth chattering as I wrapped a towel around my waist.

I quickly dressed and joined Sookie at the kitchen table, as we dug into the spoils of Alcide's breakfast, which was something Sookie called beignets, fruit salad, two cups of coffee, and a huge plate of bacon and grits.

"At least he left the food when you kicked him out." I said, with a mouth full of beignet. "These are delicious."

"I shouldn't even share with you." She winked. "But I guess the cold shower was probably punishment enough, since you were kind of defending my honour. I'll even leave you the coffee, since you know I don't drink it, and wouldn't have brought me one."

"Damn straight. Did you make yourself a tea already?" I remembered Pam's lecture about being my best self, although I was off to a pretty piss poor start.

"No, if you want to put the kettle on, that would be nice."

I got up, and put the kettle on, and made her tea. "One point for you." She smiled at me, a bit of bacon grease on the corner of her mouth. I leaned over and kissed it off.

"I wish we could just hide out here all week, and eat the food Alcide keeps dropping off and lick bacon grease off each other." I raised an eyebrow. Was that an option? "But there are lots of people that want to meet you, and a few I'd actually like you to meet. You've already met Jason, who is always like that, in case you were wondering, and Crystal, who may be the best thing that's ever happened to him, but that isn't a very difficult thing to be. I want you to meet Sam, my old boss and one of my oldest friends, who has wanted to sleep with me since I was sixteen and started working for him. You aren't allowed to beat him up though, because he's important to me. You also need to meet Tara, who is pretty normal. She runs a nice clothing store that we need to visit, and Lafayette, who's a large black drag queen. Excited yet?" She laughed.

"I don't know." I stuffed a piece of bacon in my mouth. "I'm wondering how they compare to my lesbian ex-fiancee and her fame whore mother."

"I wish I could say they are on par, but I doubt it. Wait until you get to know Jason a bit better." She popped a potato in her mouth. "There's also all the barflies at Sam's bar, who will all be dying to get a look at the fancy European who's taken me away from all of this."

"When can we start, so we can get back to locking ourselves up with the bacon grease?"

"I told Sam I'd bring you over to the bar for dinner. I hope you brought your eating pants. The portions are huge. You should get a good dose of the local populace there."

I threw some grapes in my mouth. "So I guess I shouldn't wear my Sunday finest?"

"If this morning was any indication, you better wear something you don't mind getting bloody." She grinned at me. "But remember, we're better than that."


	19. Chapter 19

**Here it is, Eric meets the Merlotte's crowd...I hope you enjoy! Thanks for your wonderful comments on the last one...I also enjoy mature Sookie! Keep them coming!**

We spent the rest of the afternoon packing up Sookie's house. She decided that even if Alcide pulled out of his offer, that she'd pay the listing fees and put it on the market. A week back in Bon Temps had her running for the hills. She said if we ever came back to visit, we'd be staying in Shreveport under a false alias so we could choose who knew we were here. I didn't disagree, especially after my run in with Alcide this morning. He really socked me good, and the bruise was really coming out.

At about five, Sam Merlotte, who I was certain I could take out in a fight, came by to pick us up.

"So you're the famous Eric. What's with the black eye?" He looked at me in the rear view mirror as I got into his Jeep.

"I may have walked into Alcide's fist this morning."

"Oh."

"Alcide let himself in again Sam. He actually looks worse than Eric, if you can believe it." Sookie shook her head, as Sam laughed. "Honestly, you boys are too much."

Sam looked a little offended to be lumped in with my black eye. "Sook, I was just there helping you out, you called me, remember?"

"Because I didn't want to sit through another meal of 'Sookie, what will it take?' 'Nothing, Alcide, I'm engaged.' 'How about now?' ' No.' 'And now?' 'Still no.'. Instead I got to sit through your pissing contest over who knows me better."

At least I wasn't the only one that Alcide had pissed off. "Anyway Sook, its fine. Let's go have dinner, so Arlene can fawn all over your fiancee."

"Fuck you Sam Merlotte. I'm not going to put up with that."

"I'm just saying, you know she's going to."

"Who's Arlene?" Sookie glared at Sam.

"All I'm saying, is when you see red hair, so red that it doesn't occur in nature, man, run, or you could be husband number seven before you even know what happened."

Warning taken. We pulled up to a bar that looked straight out of an ad for an American diner. "Here we are." Sookie got out and I took her hand as we walked to the door.

"I hope you're ready for this." She grinned at me.

"I hope Sook warned you about Lafayette." Sam grinned, seconds before I was wrapped up in a large black man, sporting a beautiful shade of red lipstick. Which was now firmly planted on my cheek.

"Damn Hooka, he's a fine looking specimen." He nodded at Sookie. "You done good girlfriend."

"Lafayette, this is my fiancee, Eric. Eric, this is my friend Lafayette." I gave a little wave.

"Honey, you can call me whatever you want. What's with the black eye? Sook, did you lay a beating on him or are you two into some kinky shit?"

"He got in a fight with Alcide this morning."

"He looks like you when you got in a fight with his bitch wife a few years back."

"Thanks for reminding me. Anyway, Eric, lets go sit down over in this booth."

"Nice to meet you." I thought of reaching out my hand to shake his, but it seemed that Lafayette and I were past that, since he'd kissed me and grabbed my ass.

"I'll come by in a bit. And I'll make sure to throw in some extra onion rings, but don't you go tellin' Sam."

"Thanks Laf." Sookie beamed up at him.

"Anything for you sweet thing. And for you, you fine piece of Swedish ass."

Sookie looked at me, laughing. "I told him you were Norwegian last week."

"Swedish does sound sexier. Now what should I order?"

"Get the burger Lafayette. Its the best burger you'll ever have."

We closed our menus and the woman with the abnormally red hair that Sam had warned me about came over to take our orders.

"Sook, is this your little European friend? Well you aren't so little are you? I bet you aren't little anywhere."

"Arlene, this is my fiancee Eric. Eric, this is Arleen."

"You know, I've been engaged about eight times. Ain't nothing to get out of it." She winked at me, and Sookie kicked me under the table.

"Arlene, we'd like two Lafayette burger combos and a couple of beers."

"Now Sook, you don't have to be rude, I was just getting to know your fiancee here."

"I'll have a Bud." That was a good American beer, right?

Arlene looked pissed that I'd cut off her get to know me session, but she didn't make Sookie's list of people she wanted me to meet, so I didn't really care. "Fine, I'll be back with your beers."

"That was smooth, with the cut off. I like the cut of your jib Northman. Now, let me point out the rest of the locals. That's Jane Bodehouse, on that stool over there. She hasn't missed a night here in 10 years. 10 years Eric. And that's Sam's new girlfriend, Holly. That's the sheriff and the deputy over there."

Arlene interrupted with our beers. "Here you go. Honey, not that you don't look good anyway, but what's with the eye? If Sookie's beatin' on you, you can come stay with me." She winked and Sookie kicked me again.

"I got in a fight with the last person that questioned our relationship." I raised an eyebrow at her, and slid my hands across the table to take Sookie's, and she scurried off.

Sookie smiled, and then cracked up laughing. "Boy, you really know how to handle her."

"I probably should have just pretended that I didn't speak English very well. I've always wanted to do that."

"I guess you missed your chance."

I squeezed her hands. "You know what's kind of funny? One of the reasons I was so attracted to you in the beginning, besides the obvious, was that you didn't know anything about me, when everyone else seemed to, back in Norway. I never even considered that you were probably in the same situation here. You're a minor celebrity, with your living in China and your Swedish fiancee."

She smirked. "I'm sure the Bon Temps Tribune is already camped outside my house, waiting to snap a picture of you. I hadn't thought about that until I came back. I'm really not used to everyone knowing or caring about my business, although I should be after Ravenscroft-gate."

I watched, as Sookie looked behind me, the colour slowly draining from her face. "Seriously?" She whispered, as she sank down in the seat. "Don't turn around Eric."

I sunk down in the seat, as her eyes continued to go wide. "What is it?"

"Alcide's ex-wife just walked in. Fucking unbelievable."

"Just stay down, maybe she won't see you."

As if on cue, Arlene came with our burgers. "Sook, did you want extra pickles? Someone used to like extra pickles and I couldn't remember if it was you."

"Yea, sure, thanks Arlene." She whispered, as she set the food in front of us.

"Sook, is something wrong? Why you whispering?" She announced loudly, as I heard the click of heels walking quickly towards us. I looked up, as an unattractive woman, mostly because of the scowl on her face stopped in front of our table.

"Sookie Fucking Stackhouse. You couldn't just let him be could you?" Was she talking about Alcide?

"Debbie Pelt, I don't have anything to say to you." Sookie sat up, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well I have lots of things to say to you, you fucking bitch. You come back here, thinking you can just have him? We aren't even fucking divorced yet, we just legally separated. You couldn't even wait until the ink dried on our divorce papers to get your ass back here and start flaunting your perfect tits around, sinkin' your claws into my man, again? Come on bitch, lets take this outside."

"Debbie, don't you remember what happened the last time we took things outside. I kicked your ass bitch, don't make me do it again."

"I thought we were better than that?" I smirked and she kicked me under the table, hard.

"We are. Debbie, I don't want Alcide. I haven't wanted Alcide since the last time you showed up, threatening to kick my ass, only to have yours handed to you. I'm engaged, and I'm not staying, no matter what Alcide has told you."

I looked at the mousy brunette still standing over Sookie, her hands still on her hips. "It's true. We're getting married." I grabbed her hand and held up her ring.

"Well I don't know why a man like you would marry a skank hoe like that." She looked me up and down.

I pulled out my meanest look. "I don't appreciate you talking about my fiancee like that." She glared at me and looked like she was ready to pounce, when I was rescued by an unlikely saviour.

Lafayette came up behind me. "Bitch, you get the fuck outta here. You ain't welcome." He shook his hand at her, dismissively.

"Its a free country, you freak." And just like that, Lafayette had her by the hair and was throwing her out the door.

"He's not only the cook, he's also the bouncer." Sookie smirked, taking a bite of her burger.

"Wow, she was a real psycho."

"Her and Alcide were made for one another. Now eat your burger before it gets cold."

"You're over that already?"

"Eric, she's just as crazy as him. You can't fight crazy with crazy, although when she first came up to the table, I probably would have. Thanks for the not so subtle reminder that we're being the better people."

"This burger really is great." I took another mouthful, and wondered what Lafayette's secret sauce was. Then again, I probably didn't really want to know.

The woman that Sookie called Jane stumbled over to the table. "Sookie Stackhouse, your friend is real pretty. Where you from? You wanna buy me a drink?" I looked at Sookie, and she nodded, as I bought Jane a double shot of whisky, straight up.

"She just wants a drink. She calls everyone pretty, so don't think you're special. Although I do think you're pretty, especially with that eye." Sookie winked at me, as Jane staggered away with her drink.

After about an hour of Lafayette flirting with me, and being gawked at by most of the town, which was actually not as bad as Arlene flirting with me, Sam offered to drive us home.

We waved goodbye to Sam and went inside, and Sookie got down a bottle of wine from a very high cupboard.

"I don't know how old this is, but its fine if its corked right?"

"Yea, it should be fine." We sat down on the old couch and had a glass, both of us needing it after the evenings activities.

"So what do you think? Should we sell your townhouse and move here forever?"

"Sure, I'll call my realtor and have him put it on the market tonight." I picked up my phone. "I should actually give Pam a call, and see how Jake's doing." I dialed.

"Hey Pam? How's the boy?"

"He's good. He's been a little angel, sleeping for at least three hours at a time. He's sleeping right now."

"He's already playing us, and he can't even talk yet."

"How'd your apology go, you big asshole?"

I looked over at Sookie and smiled. "Good, she wasn't as mad as I thought she might have been, and probably should have been."

"Well then she's a fucking saint. Did she like the watch?"

"Yep, sure did."

"So how's the town? Are they all like her there? Can you bring me back a Sookie clone?"

"I think I got the best part of Bon Temps." I wrapped my arm around her. She reached for the phone.

"Pam, your baby daddy got in a fight with my ex-boyfriend this morning. You should have seen it."

"Did he pull out his mad kung fu moves? I haven't seen those since tenth grade."

"Sure did, but he still ended up with a black eye. He put the guy's tooth through his lip though. He looked much worse." I grabbed the phone back.

"Come on, is it pick on Eric day? Anyway, just called to check in on Jake. We'll have lots of stories when we get back. Bye." I hung up. "We can talk to her when we get back. Now, lets enjoy our nice quiet evening. I believe there's still some bacon left in the fridge."

Sookie pouted at me. "Let's get a couple of hours of packing in first. If we get this done, maybe we can get out of here and spend a couple of days in New Orleans before we go back."

"You really are running for the hills, or the levees I guess. Sure, let's get a couple of rooms packed up." We started by making elaborate keep/donate/throwaway piles.

"You don't mind if we bring some of this stuff back with us do you?" She had tears in her eyes, as she held a flowery quilt.

"Lover, its your home too now. You can bring whatever you want. We can figure out what to do with it when we get there. We have a spare room, and I have a bunch of stuff stored in the basement. There's lots of room."

"Thanks. I just remember Gran making this quilt when I was a kid. I couldn't bear to give it away."

"Well just box up whatever you want to take, and we'll ship it out before we go."

By the end of the evening, I was adding three floral quilts, a silver place settings for twenty, a couple of large landscape paintings, a huge family bible, about seven photo albums, some candlesticks, a china tea service, and a mess of nicknacks to my, I mean our, once minimalist townhouse.

"Anything else Lover?" Best version of myself, best version of myself.

"I think that's it for out here, but we still need to go through Gran's room." She hopped up on the bed and sat there for a moment. "She was here, the last time I saw her. It was two days before she passed. Come sit with me for a minute, I just need to go get something." She came back with her purse, unzipped a little pocket from the lining and pulled out a pair of cufflinks. They were small, silver, and very timeless. "These were my grandfather's. Gran gave them to him on their wedding day." She put them in my hand. "And she wanted me to give them to the person I married, since she knew she wasn't going to be there. I was going to wait, but I wanted you to have something, for coming and being here with me, to do this. I know there's a lot of dust and old crap, but its still really hard to go through it all, and having you help makes it a bit easier. I can't imagine how I'd be doing this alone, or even worse, with Jason and Crystal." She put them in my hand.

I turned them over for a minute. "Thank you. I'd be honoured to wear them when we get married." I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight, as she cried softly into my shoulder. I didn't say anything, I just held her.

After a few minutes, she wiped her eyes and headed for the closet. "I already packed up all of her jewellery, so there's really just her closet. Jason wants to take the furniture."

"Why don't you sit for a bit, and I'll pull everything out."

"That would be really nice. Its silly." She wiped her eyes again. "I'm really happy to be leaving, but its just hard, taking apart everything that they spent their lifetimes building, you know?"

"I know, it must be really hard. I know that I didn't know your gran, but I think she'd be really proud of you. You're such a smart, kind, warm, loving person. You don't take any crap from anyone, and you're fiercely loyal to anyone who earns it. I know this stuff is important, but I think if you could ask, she would say that you, and maybe to a lesser extent, Jason, were her greatest accomplishment, not all the things she accumulated over the years. I know, after having Jake, that's how I feel."

She squeaked her response. "Thanks."

I smiled back as I pulled out housecoat after housecoat, mixed with some loungewear. "Gran sure liked her housecoats."

"Do you want to take some of these back too?" I looked at her, relieved when she started laughing.

"No, I think I'm good. Come on, just toss those in a bag, and we'll call it a night."

I quickly put the items from her gran's closet in a bag for the church donation pile and swooped Sookie up in my arms. "Come on. Let's go to bed." I tucked her in and went to the front door and jammed a chair underneath it, to ensure no more unwelcome visitors in the morning, and then I joined her, pulling her into my chest as she fell asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

**I love all the reviews, and I have to admit, I'm loving this story...its been so fun to write! I hope you like this chapter, and if you do, let me know! I'm also interested to see where you think this story is going, so give me your thoughts!**

***

Sookie

I woke up the next morning, Eric's arms still wrapped tightly around me. I moved a bit, just enough to wake him up. He moaned into my hair, as I rolled him over on his back. "Come on, let's go have a shower. I'm all dusty from last night."

"Mmm...give me a minute." He stretched, his gloriously muscular upper body on display. I used all my strength and tried to pull him up.

"I'll make it worth your while."

"Ok, ok." He let me lead him to the bathroom and we stripped off our underwear and hopped in.

"I miss your shower." I joked, as we both crammed in, Eric having to duck a bit to get under the curtain rod.

"I'll take any shower I can get, if you are in it." He grabbed a bottle of body wash that I brought and started soaping me up. "I know I've said it before, but your breasts are fucking amazing. I gasped, as he took one in each hand and thumbed my nipples. I could feel his erection pressed against my back.

"And you know how to really, uh, appreciate them." I shivered, as he drew my hair back and kissed my neck. "I hate to put a rush on this, but we only have about twenty minutes of hot water." I turned myself around and he hoisted me up, so I could wrap my legs around his waist, and my arms around his neck.

"You're all business this morning Lover." He kissed my mouth, and I slid my tongue between his lips. We moved together and I moaned as he entered me. "Oh fuck, I missed this." He buried his head in my shoulder.

"Me too. Oh, that feels so good." I moaned, and after about ten minutes, we were both fully in the throes of passion, when heard a obnoxiously loud knock at the door.

"Sook, you in here? You all right?" I recognized Jason's voice, right outside the bathroom door. Eric quickly put me down.

"Get out of here! God Jason, don't you knock?"

"Well Sook, its Gran's house, I didn't think I had to knock. I wasn't plannin' on finding you in here screamin' your head off like someone was hurtin' you."

"Go! We'll be out in a minute." I turned to Eric. "I'm so sorry." I glanced down at his very large, and hard erection and bit my lip. Fucking Jason.

I emerged about five minutes later, wrapped in my old robe. "What the hell was so important that you couldn't call first?"

"We did call Sook. We called from the truck. Alcide came over first and couldn't get in, so he came and got me."

"He doesn't live here."I hissed. "Why would he be able to get in?"

"Sook, I brought you breakfast." I looked over at Alcide, who was grinning like a fool, holding a bag of delicious smelling food.

"Is that the only reason you came? We are leaving in a couple of days. If you are going to buy this house, we need to do it now."

"We can do it whenever you want." He smirked at me, and I grabbed the breakfast out of his hands.

"No we can't. After yesterday, I can't believe you would even come over here. What do you want? If you wanted to bring me breakfast, you've done it and both of you can leave."

Eric emerged from the bathroom about five minutes later. I wondered if he'd finished without me, and part of me hoped he had, so his pent up sexual frustration wouldn't cause him to attack Alcide immediately, although he kind of deserved it. I shot him a sympathetic look and he winked at me.

"Back for more Alcide?" He sat down beside me on the couch, wrapping an arm around me protectively. I shot him my shut up look.

"Watch it, you fuckin' panzy, or I might be."

"Enough of this. Alcide, what do you want and not that it really matters, but why did you tell me that you were divorced, when Debbie told me you are only separated? "

"That bitch came and saw you?"

"She stalked me to Merlotte's last night. Lafayette threw her out on her ass. I've had to put up with your shit all week and I don't appreciate you lying to me and forcing me to interfere and be involved in your pathetic excuse for a marriage. So what do you want?"

I watched, slightly amazed, as Alcide had a bit of a revelation."I'll buy your house Sook. I didn't know Debbie was going to go see you. She's been jealous of you for years now, because I never stopped talkin' about you. Or carin' about you. Sook, when Debbie and I split up, you were all I thought about. I came by the house, I stopped by Jason's. When I found out you were gone, the only thing I could think of was to buy your house, so you'd have to come back, at least for a little bit, and maybe I'd be able to win you back."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not the same person I used to be. I can't love someone like you. You aren't honest with me, and I deserve someone who will be."

"I could change Sook. I'd change for you."

"No you wouldn't. Or you would have changed already. You had your chance and you're still lying." I sighed. "Please Alcide, just let me be. I'm happy." I knew I had him on the lying thing. I could give a shit about his marriage to Debbie, but he knew how I felt about lying. We hadn't spoke for almost five years because of his lying the last time.

Jason wandered in and out of the rooms upstairs, and I listened as the floor creaked above my head.

"What's he got that I don't?" He nodded at Eric.

I looked at Eric, and he kept quiet. "He's always been honest with me, even if its not in his best interest to be. He listens to me when I talk, and knows how I like my tea, because he remembers what I say. He works hard at the relationships in his life, the ones that are important. He worships me, in a way that no one else ever has, including you. He knows what I need, even when I really don't. Do I need to go on?"

"But don't you ever think about what we had?"

"You know, I used to. But I let you go Alcide, and its time you let me go as well." That seemed like a good answer.

"I'd never let you go again. But I know when I'm not going to win. I guess its not our time." He got up from the wingtip chair he'd been sitting in. We both stood up and he came towards me, wrapping me up in a huge hug. I stood there helplessly, looking over at Eric. Alcide released me after a few minutes and moved onto Eric. He stood, looking at him for a minute.

I almost thought he was going to hug him, but I couldn't have been more wrong, as he quickly pulled back, punching him in the nose, hard, catching Eric completely off guard. "That's a sign of things to come, if you ever fuck with her. I'll come all the way over to wherever the fuck you're from and kick your ass. Again." He turned and headed to the door. "Sook, I'll have my lawyer do up the paperwork today and you can go sign it. If you ever change your mind, I'll be waiting."

I crouched down beside Eric on the floor, blood gushing out of his nose. "Oh baby. We need to get you to a hospital. I think it's broken." I went upstairs and got Jason. "Come on, we need to get him to the hospital, I think his nose is broken."

"He better not bleed all over my truck."

"Jason, now." He rolled his eyes, as we helped Eric to the truck and drove to the hospital in Monroe.

We got in there and I sat with Eric in a hospital room as we waited for a doctor, while Jason looked for parking. "Looks like you are going to have another black eye to go with the first one."

"Thanks. Its a good thing I don't have to go anywhere on business until February."

Doctor Ludwig, a small woman with piercing eyes joined us a few minutes later. "Mr. Northman, I'm going to have to set your nose, and stuff it with some gauze to set it properly, but then you should be good to go home. I have to ask, since you've been hit more than once, do you want to press charges against anyone?"

"Would we have to attend any sort of hearing or visit the police? Could I wrap it up in the next three days?"

"I would think so. No, it would probably take months to go to trial."

"Then no."

We picked up a prescription for painkillers, and a bag of ice and then Jason dropped us off at home. To my complete and utter shock, Jason said the nicest thing he'd said all week to Eric.

"Look man, I'm sorry I let that that asshole over here this morning. I knew he was a crazy motherfucker, but he took it to a whole new level. That looks fuckin' painful."

"Yea, thanks for driving me to the hospital. It is fuckin' painful."

I smiled, knowing that was probably as good as an apology got with Jason.

Eric had hardly said anything since Alcide hit him, and they were mostly responses to 'does this hurt?'.

I made sure he was comfortable on the couch and then sat at his feet. "Can I get you anything?" I winced just looking at him. He'd been totally unprepared for that hit, and Alcide had made it a good one.

"No." He sighed. "It just really hurts. I went twenty-eight years, almost twenty-nine, without breaking a bone, and three days in Bon Temps and I'm probably disfigured for life."

"I'm really sorry." I reached down and put his feet in my lap, and rubbed them a little.

He gave me a weak smile. "I don't know why I didn't see it coming. He practically walked in on me having very loud, amazing sex with the object of his obsession in the shower. Did I think he was going to want to shake my hand?"

"For a minute, I thought he was going to hug you. He's a crazy motherfucker. At least he conceded. I'm sorry you broke your nose for it to happen, but at least I've sold my house and he's out of my, our lives forever."

"Any more crazy exes I should know about? Maybe someone would like to break my arm, or a leg?"

"Well you know Bill, but he seems to be pretty MIA since I got a Norwegian cellphone, besides his letter writing campaign of course. I'm also pretty sure you could take him."

"Of course. Well, as long as he's not breaking any bones in my face, he can write away, as far as I'm concerned."

"So the good news is, I only have one person I want you to see, before we go, and she's perfectly normal. After that, we are good to head to New Orleans, and back to our crazy, but not insane lives. If I can get Jason to take me to the post office in the morning, and stop by Alcide's lawyer to sign the paperwork, and stop in and see Tara and Sam quick, then we can be out of here by nightfall. I called for a rental car, so you don't have to squeeze in Jason's truck ever again. They are going to drop it off around three."

"That sounds amazing. You know, you always think people are exaggerating about going home and how awful it is. All those crazy stories you told, I really thought you were too, but I'll never doubt you again."

"This is a silly question, but did you finish in the shower after I got out? I'd feel even worse if you were walking around all day with a case of blueballs, a black eye, and a broken nose."

"I couldn't finish after that. I knew you were sitting out here with him, and I knew that's just what he wanted. I was too infuriated to finish." That made sense.

"Well then, for your troubles today sir, I'd like to make you an offer."

"Oh yea?" He raised an eyebrow, but immediately lowered it. "Ow."

"How would you like to just lie there for a night and let me take care of you?"

"Well, I'd never refuse that. I guess I should count myself lucky that he didn't decide to knee me in the balls."

"You and me both." I winked.

After I'd taken care of Eric, I helped him up and we went to bed. I was careful to wake him every few hours to make sure he didn't have a concussion from all the blows to the head he had suffered in the past couple of days. He seemed fine, and we woke up around 10 the next morning. Sam had offered to loan me his Jeep to go see Tara, so when we woke up, it was parked in the yard, with the keys in the glove box. We both breathed a sign of relief when we got through our showers and a disappointing breakfast of cereal and milk with no sign of Alcide. We drove over to see Tara quickly, and I bought a few things from her store, and two lovely scarves made by a local artist for Pam and Elsie. She was perfect, and when we left, Eric said she was his favourite person from the entire trip. His face looked even worse in the morning, and I hadn't thought that was possible, but the pain medication seemed to be working, because he said it hurt less. We drove to the post office to mail my boxes back to Norway, since I didn't want to leave it up to Jason to get the address right, over to the lawyer, signed the paperwork for the house, and picked up a very large cheque, went to say relatively painless goodbye to Jason and Crystal, and I cut him a cheque for 15 percent of the sale price, which made Crystal very happy.

Our last stop of the day was to drop off Sam's Jeep. I got a little weepy, because Sam had been the one bright spot of the trip for me.

"Sam, you promise you'll come to the wedding?"

"I wouldn't miss it cher." He turned and looked at Eric. "You take good care of her. You're takin' the best of Bon Temps with you here. Sorry your trip was so painful." I knew Eric wouldn't argue that.

Eric leaned over and shook his hand. "I will take good care of her, and you are welcome to come visit whenever you want."

Just then, Lafayette popped his head out from the kitchen. "How 'bout me? Damn, hooka, what happened to yo' face?"

"Alcide again. Yea, you're welcome too. I have a baby momma that would love to take you out on the town."

"You got a baby momma? Damn Sook, where'd you find this one?"

I smiled, thinking back to Eric walking out of the sea of pink at Osaka castle. "You had to be there."

I wrapped Sam up in a huge hug. "Thanks Sam."

He looked at me. "For what?"

"Everything." He smiled back at me. "You sure you couldn't be convinced to open a Merlotte's in Oslo? They've all missed out on a Lafayette burger for so long."

"Then where would Jane Bodehouse go everything night cher?" He winked at me, and I wiped a tear from my eye.

I had really missed his friendship when I was with Bill, and it meant a lot to me that we were able to get it back. He also sent us on our way with a couple of icepacks, which put him pretty high in Eric's books.

When we got home, the rental car pulled right in behind us, and we packed it up and got on the road. Never had I been so happy to get away, in all the summers going back to university, moving to Japan, never. It was a great feeling to leave all the crazy behind. I felt a bit bad, because, as Jason had reminded me, its where I'm from, and I wouldn't change that for anything, but without Gran, it wasn't really home anymore. Somehow, I'd found a new home, and he was sitting beside me, black and blue in the front seat of our rental Civic.


	21. Chapter 21

**Here we have it, the next chapter! I hope you like, and keep the feedback coming! I liked that you all just want them to end up happy! I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so you are in good company!**

***

Eric

My face hurt. Much worse than after the fight with Lars the bully or with Johan when he asked Pam to the dance in tenth grade. It was painful looking in the mirror and Sookie winced every time she looked at me. I know she was trying hard not to, but she couldn't help it. It was terrible. I can't believe I thought we'd make some sort of peace. Alcide was unlike anyone I'd ever met, completely and utterly irrational. I'm sure it didn't help hearing Sookie screaming my name in the shower, but still, to break my nose? Unprovoked? I guess maybe in his mind, I did provoke him, just by being there with her. I couldn't even try to think like him, it made my head hurt worse.

"Eric? Are you hungry? I'm sorry the rental car is so small, but it was all they had."

"It beats the hell out of Jason's truck. I'm a little hungry. I should get a drink to take my medication with, and I'm not supposed to take it on an empty stomach." I had the seat reclined most of the way back, and like I said, it beat the hell out of my ride here, which was ironic, because I had the hell beat out of me for my ride back.

"What do you feel like?"

"What was the American place you took me to in Kyoto? With the square burgers?"

"Wendys? Yea, there's probably one at the next exit."

I was thinking about how delicious the Burger at Merlotte's had been, but there's no way I'd go back for one of those. "Yea, I could go for a burger, and one of those ice cream drinks."

"A Frosty? Yea, we can do that." She pulled off and we went through the drive-thru and sat and ate in the parking lot. I was glad she didn't suggest going in. It would be a while before I was going to be comfortable in public.

"Your parents are going to think badly of me for this." Sookie slurped her soda.

"What do you mean?" I'd already been thinking of ways to hide out for a few days when we got home. Pam was going to relentlessly take the piss out of me, and Mom would want to set up in the spare room and take care of me.

"I brought you home, and look at you. I broke your gorgeous face."

"You didn't break it, besides it will heal."

"Well I can't help but feel slightly responsible. You did get hit, twice, because of me."

I stirred my Frosty, not quite sure how to respond. "I did split his lip and give him a nice bruise on his jaw. I may have even fractured it. And I did get the girl. So, I don't think it was completely about you, and I obviously won, which is important, well, it will be to Dad. And I am European, which is is a pretty good excuse on its own." I winked, using my good eye, which just meant it was a little less black than the other one. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yea, of course."

"What the hell did you see in that guy?"

She sighed. "You know, I've been asking myself that a lot over the last couple of weeks. I guess it was just exciting at first. He was and is so spontaneous, which was cool at 18, when I didn't equate his behaviour with crazy. He played college football, which may not sound like a big deal, but it is when you are from Bon Temps. I used to love when he'd stop over and bring me breakfast, which is I guess why he kept stopping over and bringing me breakfast. But he'd always bring coffee, which I never drank, and bacon, even when I went through a brief vegetarian stage one summer. He never listened. And the lying. I don't know why I didn't pick up on that faster. But he was my first love, and first, well, you know, which makes a lot of things that are probably important deal-breakers fade to the background."

I sighed internally. That made a bit more sense. "Like the fact that they aren't even into your gender?"

She laughed. "Hey, I hadn't thought of that."

"That guy was your first? Is this an awkward conversation to have?"

"Yea. I guess its not. Is it awkward for you? So Pam was your first?"

"Yep, coatroom closet, Christmas party, December 20, 1996. You?"

"His parent's condo in Shreveport, July 15, 2001. Can I ask you another inappropriate question?

"Why not?" I threw some french fries in my mouth.

"What's your number?"

"My number? I never really played sports." I knew what she was getting at, but it was cute when she got all flustered.

She smacked my arm. "I don't mean that number. I mean, how many girls." I painfully smirked as she grew redder and redder.

I wasn't done making her squirm yet. "How many do you think?"

"Eric! That's not fair."She squealed at me.

"Three guesses. If you don't guess, I'll tell you."

"Well, I know about Pam of course, and me, and the girl with the tattoos that Pam liked better. I know when we first met, you said that you had a lot of threesomes, so lets say, seven?"

"No." Four threesomes was a lot of threesomes? I guess for most people. Turned out that Pam liked all the girls better.

"Higher or lower?"

"I didn't say I'd tell you that." I never said that my sexabilities came naturally. There was a good month where Pam picked up a different girl a few times a week. Not that I was complaining at the time, but I guess hindsight is 20/20.

"Twelve?" I guess I should do the math in my head. Did I even know my number?

"No."

"I guess I should have assumed you were very experienced. You and your damn sexabilities. 45?"

"Lower."

"You said you'd tell after three guesses."

"Then I will say 23."

"Is it 23 or not?"

"When I did a quick mental tally right now, I came up with 23."

"You don't even know your number?"

"Its not really something I gave too much thought to."

"Because there were so many you forgot?"

"Because they didn't really mean anything. What's your number my little math whiz?"

"Guess."

"Well I know about Bill and Alcide, and me, of course, so five?"

"Wrong." More than five? Were there possibly more than two crazy exes I hadn't met yet?

"More than five?"

"What do you think?"She raised an eyebrow. This had gotten dangerous. If I guessed too high, I was going to be in trouble. Better to go with less.

"No, I don't think more than five. Less than five." Safe. That also would leave me with only one more ex to deal with.

"Less than five is right. You are more than seven times more experienced than me." Now I had to be the math whiz. Seven times four was 28, and I had said 23, so three?

"Three? So me and three others, so one that I haven't met yet?"

"No, you big ass, three total, including you."

"So I've met and confronted everyone you've slept with?" Phew.

"Yep."

"I'm relieved. I don't think I could handle running into anyone else, having met Bill and Alcide."

"Don't think you have to start introducing me to your list."

"Pam's the only one you'd have anything to worry about, and you've already dealt with her."

"You didn't have any other girlfriends? Just girls you slept with?"

That wasn't exactly true. "Pam and I really were together most of my dating life. There were a couple that lasted around six months, but she usually scared them off, and I let her, so I guess they weren't that important."

"Interesting."

"That's all you have to say?"

"23?"

"Its a lot huh?" I kind of regretted not making up a lower number, but I didn't want to bullshit her.

"I had honestly never thought about it, until right now. Well, when we first met I did, because you were gorgeous, but when you didn't try and sleep me that first night, I never really thought about it after that."

"If it wasn't for Pam, my number would be more like," mental tally. "Ten."

"That's a little better. That many threesomes? I guess you did say a lot."

"You can take that up with Pam. Better yet, maybe don't."

"I won't. This conversation never leaves the Wendy's parking lot. Unless of course, I choose to tease you about it, I'm reserving that right, but it will be in the privacy of our home." She started the car, and we continued on to New Orleans.

Our home. I liked the sound of that. "I reserve the right to tease you about Alcide then."

"But not Bill?"

"Bill's old hat. I've been teasing you about Bill since we met. In fact, maybe I should send Bill a gift."

"For being an asshole cheater?"

"For being stupid enough to be an asshole cheater to you. Kind of a prize for being genetically inferior."

"To yours truly?"

"I wasn't going to make that connection, but if you want to, then that's your call." Painful smirk.

"Your such a cocky ass, even with your gorgeous face beat all to shit."

"And you agreed to marry me."

"I did, but maybe I wouldn't have if we'd of had this conversation first. " She leaned over and kissed me, very gently. I reciprocated the best I could. "I'm glad you're here, even if you are a manwhore."

"How about reformed manwhore? This man doesn't whore no more."

"When did you stop whoring?"

"About four years ago, when Pam and I had our threesome talk, and I decided I wanted to get really serious about her." It was a bit of a touchy subject.

"Oh."

"I may have been a whore, but I was always honest about it. I was never a cheater."

"She really hurt you eh?"

"Well lets just say, if it wasn't for the perfect storm that you and Jake created, I would have had a much harder time moving on, and I probably would have taken a significant amount of time off of talking to her. I built a life around her, which is a hard thing to tear down and rebuild. Luckily I ran into a master carpenter shortly after." I winked at her.

"Do you ever miss her?"

I snorted. Painfully. "We see her every week. I don't much have the chance to miss her."

"I don't mean like that."

"I think I could probably think of things I miss, but when I think back about all the time she spent lying to me, and lying to herself, it makes those things pretty inconsequential. Besides, I think I would have missed her friendship more than anything else, If I'd of lost that."

She smiled that beautiful smile."I like that you're honest with me."

"And I like that I can be. How long until we get to New Orleans?"

"About an hour and a half."

"So at about 8?"

"Yea, why?"

"Do you want to get married? I bet we could find a Vegas style chapel."

"You want to get married, you face hurting like that?"

"I'd marry you anytime, anywhere."

"What about your family?"

I shrugged. "We don't have to tell them. Or we can. They'll deal with it. We can do another wedding later, with all the pomp and circumstance. This might sound silly, but I'd kind of like it to be just you and me."

I could see her mulling it over. "That doesn't sound silly at all."

"So what do you think?"


	22. Chapter 22

**Aw, I thought everyone would be excited about a New Orleans wedding, but it seems like there's a split on them just going for it or waiting to plan out something more elaborate in Norway. Anyway, I'm undecided, and you won't find out what happens in this chapter, so you have a day to try and sway me towards New Orleans or Norway!**

"Can we wait until tomorrow? I'd like to at least get a new dress, maybe get my hair done. I'm in desperate need of a cut. I remember seeing this really cute little chapel in the French Quarter that does weddings on short notice."

"Tomorrow it is." I smiled over at her. I would have married her months ago, but after the week we'd made it through together, it seemed pretty fitting. I really never cared about doing a big fussy wedding, as long as the end result was her and I.

"Eric? Would you mind if I called Sam? He could be our witness, and I'm sure he'd come."

"Sure." I passed her my phone. I knew, from seeing their goodbye that Sam was the closest thing to family she had. We'd do something for my family, so it was right for him to be there.

"Sam? What are you doing tomorrow? I don't suppose you want to come sign off on a marriage license?" "Come as early as you can. We still need to make the arrangements." I know, yea, that's fine. No, you better not tell him. Ok, see you tomorrow!"

"So he's going to come?" She looked apprehensive.

"Yea, but..."

"But what?"

"But Lafayette may have been standing right there when he said, Sook, you're getting married? Tomorrow in New Orleans?" She sighed. "And I may have said, yea, that's fine when he invited himself. But I said no Jason."

I shrugged. "As long as they leave Alcide behind. Better yet, they can bring him. I'll marry you regardless. We can continue to ignore his objections. Besides, Lafayette can do your makeup." I smirked painfully at her.

"And he can help me find a dress. Perfect!"

We had originally booked at a Holiday Inn last minute because it was quick and easy, and we both just really wanted to get out of Bon Temps, but since it was going to be the night before and our wedding night, I called around and got us a suite at W hotel in the French Quarter. We arrived around 9, and checked into a gorgeous suite with a balcony, overlooking Charles St.

"Eric, its gorgeous." Sookie looked around, taking the suite in. "It's bigger than my apartment in university."

"Its called the Wow suite for a reason I guess." It was really nice. The colours were warm, and there were black and white prints of the city on the walls. "Do you want to get some room service?" I still wasn't really ready to go out. I'd be up for it tomorrow.

"Sure. Let's get some dessert. I saw an Italian restaurant when we came in. You stay here, and I'll go pick some tiramisu. Its not listed on the room service menu, so they must not send food up. I'll be right back."

I went to the bathroom to examine my face. It looked slightly better, but I grabbed some ice from down the hall, hoping to get the swelling down a bit. I went back to the room and elevated my head, as the doctor had suggested. After a few minutes, I dozed off.

I awoke a little while later, to Sookie sitting on the end of the couch, holding two giant plates of tiramisu. "Sorry, dessert took a little while, and I actually had an ulterior motive. Your face looks a little better. The ice is really helping."

"So what's this ulterior motive Lover?"

"Well, I don't know what the tradition is in Norway, but when you get married here, you're supposed to have something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue."

"So you went out and bought all these things?"

"Kind of. Well no. I went out to the car and dug through Gran's jewellery and found her pearls to wear, which would be something old, I'll buy a new dress tomorrow, I called Lafayette and he said he'd loan me his diamond studs, and you can't see the something blue until tomorrow night."

"Really? I can't see it tonight?"

"Nope. That's the rule. I also found a store about three blocks from here that has wedding bands. What are your thoughts on a wedding band?"

"I'd like to wear one. I like what it represents. Its tradition in Norway to just wear a plain one, as a symbol of endless love, no beginning or end."

"I guess that's the same as what it means here. We'll go pick them out tomorrow." She smiled at me broadly. I guess I had the right answer to the ring question. "I also picked this up." She handed me a business card for The French Quarter Wedding Chapel. "They said they do weddings on short notices 24/7. I told them we'd be by sometime tomorrow, and they said it wouldn't be a problem." She was buzzing with excitement, and I loved it.

"Well you had a very industrious evening, while I laid here and iced my nose." I had a bite of the tiramisu. "This is delicious."

"Yea, its amazing. So its also tradition for the bride and groom to sleep apart for the night, and since your face is broken, I'll sleep on the fold-out couch."

"We don't have to follow all the traditions. I sleep better when you're there, and I do have a broken nose." I put on my best pout. I hadn't played the broken nose card yet. Seemed like a good a time as any, and I really did sleep better when she was there.

"Ok, but no funny stuff."

"But I like the funny stuff."

"Tomorrow night we can do funny stuff until we are blue in the face, but tonight, no funny stuff."

"You're so mean."

I watched as she undressed and threw on one of my t-shirts to sleep in. Knowing that the funny stuff was off limits made it all the more painful to watch her, as she undid her bra and pulled it through the sleeve of my t-shirt. We had the patio door open, and the cool air was having quite the effect on her breasts, which only had a thin layer of protection from the elements. I quickly undressed and crawled under the covers, willing my erection away. To make it even worse, I caught a glimpse of a pair of blue boyshorts, perhaps the same pair from our trans-Atlantic phone call. Sure enough, there was the little bow. I had to ask.

"Lover, are those the panties from when we talked on the phone last week?"

"Oh, yea, I guess they are. I washed everything before we left Bon Temps."

"Oh."

"Oh what?"

"Nothing." I rolled over, turning my back to her. This was not going well. One night Northman, one night. It's important to her. "Love you. Night." I knew I was going to be up for a while, in more ways than one.

"Love you too." She said, as she reached an arm around my waist. If she slid her hand down another inch, she was going to make contact, and the thought of that made me even harder, if that was possible. She brought her head up to mine and curled her head into the back of my neck, and let out a breath. I stifled a groan. "Are you ok? Did you bump your nose or something?"

"No, I'm fine." She moved her hand a little lower, brushing the end of my massive hard on. I felt her pull her hand away, which was a bit of a relief, because there was no way it was going away if she kept brushing me, but then my eyes shot open, as I felt her reach down my shorts and grasp me.

"You were willing to do it, and that's what counts." She whispered in my ear. I tried to respond, but it just came out as a gratuitous grunt. I rolled onto my back and pulled her on top of me. "Please, just be careful of your nose."

I eased my finger around the edge of her boyshorts. "I am being careful, that's why I pulled you on top. I didn't ruin your something blue surprise did I?" I groaned, as she gently grinded up against me.

"As if I'd wear dirty underwear to my wedding. No, the something blue is also something new." She sat up, straddling me on her knees. "I daresay the something blue for tomorrow blows this something blue out of the water." I grinned as she pulled off my t-shirt and tossed it on the floor.

"Well, I'm a fan of these blue somethings too. And these." I slid my hands up her sides and cupped her breasts.

"You may have mentioned that before." She shivered, as as I ran my thumb over her nipple.

"They are exquisite." The best I'd seen. By far.

"The best you've seen?"

"By far."

"Good answer." She leaned back slightly, moaning as I continued playing with her breasts, rolling her nipples between my thumbs and forefingers. She continued slowly grinding into me, and I raised my hips to meet her movements. She lifted her hips off me slightly, pulling my shorts down to my knees.

"I think you're over dressed for this party Lover. Let's lose those." She lifted her hips up a little more and I removed them one leg at a time. "That's better." She reached down and lowered herself onto me. "And that's even better."

"Mmmm...and you know what's even better?" She began slowly moving up and down, while I brought my hips up to meet her.

"Than you on top? Not much, but what?"

"The fact that no one is going to interrupt this time. Do you realize that we haven't had sex, like real, orgasm, screaming each other's name sex in two weeks? Not since I left Norway."

"You're right." She moved down, a little harder than before. "Fuck, that feels good." I kept one hand on her breast and moved the other to her clit. I smirked as she began to moan a little louder, and leaned back a little further, granting me better access. I licked my thumb and continued on, never taking my eyes off her face, waiting for the moment when she lost all control. I was rewarded in a big way, a few moments later, when she came, screaming my name. I pushed my hips up into her,and pulled her down to me, finishing deep inside of her. She slid herself off of me, and rolled beside me, burying her head in the crook on my neck.

"I guess that was worth sacrificing my morals and values over. That was pretty fucking good." I could feel her breasts pushed into my side. "How's your nose?"

"We didn't even touch it, and I breathed out my mouth the entire time."

"Good boy." She moved her face up a bit and kissed my cheek. "Now, let's get some sleep. It's a big day tomorrow."

"It is. And I couldn't be more excited." I rolled on my side and kissed her mouth.

We woke up early the next morning and I did my darndest to talk Sookie into a shower, but she drew the line on sex before the wedding on our wedding day. She finally conceded to a shower with no funny stuff, so I did my best to keep little Eric under control. We got out, I shaved, and got dressed.

"I'd marry you in that, you know." I emerged from the bathroom to find Sookie in a hotel robe, moisturizing.

"You shaved!"

"I figured if you had to have a wedding photo of me with a black eye and a broken nose, the least I could do was shave."

I watched as Sookie pulled on a very familiar white sundress with little red flowers, and then we headed out to start our big day. First stop was the ring store, and then the chapel to make our appointment, which was at 6pm. Sam called, and he and Lafayette would be joining us around 2pm, so we had most of the morning to take care of the things we needed to. Sookie made a hair appointment, and I found a casual suit. It was navy, and Sookie approved.

We were heading back to the hotel to have lunch and meet Lafayette and Sam, when Sookie pulled me into a little store, next to the ring store.

"I bet they have a dress here." It was a cute boutique. "i'll call Sam and Lafayette and give them the address and they can meet us here."

"But I'm not supposed to see the dress yet, am I?"

"You will just have to wait outside the waiting room. And no peeking."

I sat on a stool outside the door, as a very attentive saleswoman brought Sookie every white, ivory, and silver dress they had. We were the only customers in the store, so she was having a great time, fussing over her and bringing by shoes and accessories.

"Oh, I bet you'd like this one."

"No hints. I want to be surprised."

"Ok, ok." I sent Pam an email on my Blackberry, checking up on Jake. I was really starting to miss him. For such a little guy, he had such a little personality. The door jingled, signalling another customer coming in. I kept plugging away on my email, not even looking up.

"Darling, I don't know why you insist on dragging me to these stores."

"Come on, I'll only be a minute. We've been sitting at the cafe across the street for ages. I just want to try on the dress in the window."

"Fine." He pulled up the stool next to me. "Woman and their shopping."

I grunted a reply, not really interested in small-talk with a stranger. We had a busy day, and I was in the zone. I thought about telling Pam what we were up to, but I thought I should wait and see what Sookie wanted to do. I looked up as she opened the change room door, wearing an adorable blue sundress. I was starting to like her more and more in blue. It made me think back to our phone call, and it really made her eyes pop.

"I think I found the dress! But what do you think about this one? I kind of like it too, just to have." She smiled at me, but her expression quickly changed to one of utter shock and disgust.

"What is it Lover?" I realized, she wasn't looking at me, but past me.

Her eyes clouded over, with a look I hadn't seen before. I hoped to hell it wasn't directed at me.

"What. The. Fuck."


	23. Chapter 23

**All right! The answer to to the WTF! I hope you aren't disappointed! I almost left this as a cliffie, but since the last two were, I thought I'd close this one up for you. Keep the feedback coming, I have the feeling there's going to be some strong opinions on this one!**

***

Sookie

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Eric's head swung around, to see who I was looking at, and he joined me, looking wide eyed. Of all the fucking days, in all the tiny boutiques in America? In the world? Really?

Just then, a tall brunette, a few years older than me, popped her head out of the change room next to me, wearing the same dress I had on. "Bill, what do you think of this? I wish I filled it out a bit better, but I could get it taken in in the bust." She really was flat as a pancake, and she stopped, taking in the standoff before her. Seriously? Her too?

"Sookie." Bill stood up, his smile nauseating me. He started to move towards me. "How have you been? You never responded to my letters."

Eric rose, standing at my side, putting himself between us. His eyes searched my face, and I did my best to let him know I had it under control. And I did, sort of. I had an awful flashback of Bill pounding away on my futon, which I'd promptly replaced as soon as he left. He was lucky that futons were cheap.

"Sookie. What are the chances?" The brunette popped into our awkward standoff. "How have you been?" And her. The awful picture of her bent over Bill's desk in his dorm room joined the image of Yuki on the futon. This was not what I wanted to picture on my wedding day.

Bill looked up, noticing Eric. His eyes clouded over. "You are fucking kidding me. That guy, you are with that guy?"

Eric furrowed his brow, looking bad ass with his damaged face. That or like a crazy motherfucker. I couldn't decide "She is. Bill Compton. How interesting."

"Bill, I thought you said that Sookie was batting for the other team now." Lorena smiled at me. He told her that? What the fuck?

"Lorena, shut up. Sookie, would you talk to me, outside, just for a couple of minutes?" I looked at him in disbelief.

"You told her that Sookie left you for a woman? Wow, you are more pathetic than I thought, and I was there the night that Amelia locked you in the bathroom." Eric smirked at him. "Lorena, is it? I think Bill may have changed the story a bit."

"And who are you?"

"Eric Northman." He held out his hand, and I could see the rage in Bill's eyes. "Sookie's fiancee."

"How do you know Bill?" She cocked her head, looking at him, and didn't take his hand. I felt my rage building, as she eyed my fiancee up and down. I'd done my best to stay relatively calm through the whole Alcide debacle, but it was not looking good for my 'be the better person' plan.

"Let's just say I have Bill to thank for my lovely fiancee here." Ooh he went there. Bill turned an unnatural shade of red.

He looked back at me. "Sookie please, just a moment."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The girl who had so kindly been assisting me with my shopping walked behind the counter, a huge grin on her face, thinking she was in for quite the show. She was probably right. "Why would I do that? So you can tell me that I mistook you giving it to this bitch as math tutoring?" I nodded at Lorena. "Or maybe how you can tell me that you were partaking in an international penis measuring competition when I caught you with that girl, in our bed? Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, or does that about sum it up?"

"Sookie, I love you."

Eric put his hand up. "Ok, ok, really? That's rich. You have to be kidding. Did you really just say that?" He turned and looked at Lorena. "Isn't he here with you? I assume you are the math tutor slut."

"Yea, he's here with me, we've been living together for like six months. And who are you calling a slut? She looked at Bill. "You love her? You told me she had a breakdown, coming to terms with her sexuality and that's why you kept writing all the letters."

"Lorena, fuck off. You are a huge slut. And Bill, I don't even know how a first class psycho like you could even think that you love me. Did you ever think that I would seriously take you back? Ever? And you had the gall to tell Lorena that we broke up because I was into women? And that I had a breakdown? You know what I am into?"

Eric, Bill and Lorena all stopped at looked at me. Yep I was going there. "Eric's giant cock. If anyone had the right to be entered in an international penis measuring competition, it would be him." The look on Eric and Bill's faces, although completely opposite, were both equally amusing. Eric was biting his lip to keep from laughing, while Bill looked like he was about to go into a jealous rage and pop the vein that was bulging in his forehead.

"Lover, you are too much. On that note, Bill, math tutor slut, its been fun, but I think we will have to say goodbye. It's been utterly annoying meeting you, and seeing you again, and I suggest, Bill Compton, that you cease and desist your letter writing campaign, because it isn't getting you anywhere, except making you appear even more pathetic in our eyes, and its pretty creepy. Sookie doesn't even live in Bon Temps. My wife to be, gather whatever it is you have decided on. We have a date with a drag queen, and your ex-boss, who, from the sounds of things, would be all too happy to meet up with Bill in the dark alley beside this store."

I ducked back in the change room and changed out of my blue dress, smiling as I heard the last part of Eric's speech. "Oh, and Lorena is it? You look like a prepubescent boy in that dress." I gathered my purchases and we headed for the cash. Eric pulled out his credit card, and as much as I didn't really want him buying me things, he got to it first, so I let him pay. We headed out the door, Eric first, his hand firmly holding mine. I glanced back at Bill, who looked furious that he'd lost, when he said something quite unexpected.

"Eric Northman, I know exactly where you live though. The internet is an amazing thing, and you're quite the celebrity." Bill crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at Eric smugly. "I'd had a hard time keeping track of you darling, since you left Japan in October. I never thought you'd end up with him, especially when he fathered a child with that other woman, right about the time we broke up." Eric stopped dead and turned around.

"Bill, you're kind of freaking me out here." Lorena looked at him, differently than before.

He ignored her, and his focused returned to me. "Sookie, I asked you to talk to me alone, just for a moment. I think it would be a good idea if you listened." He grabbed my arm, and I looked at Eric, the minute something snapped in his head.

"You would be wise to remove your hand from her, Compton."

"Or what? I heard about the beating that Alcide laid on you. You're a big pussy from the sounds of it."

How the hell did he know about that? Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that he just happened to be here, right now. Alcide and Jason knew I was in New Orleans, but how would have he found out? My mind was racing, trying to put the pieces together.

I jerked my arm, trying to get it out of Bill's grasp for a minute, until Eric removed it. "I said you would be wise to remove your hand." He grabbed him by the shirt collar, pulled him into the alley beside the store and slammed him into the wall. "Now Bill Compton, You seem to think you know a lot about me, let me tell you what I know about you. I know you are living in Baton Rouge, working at a Jr. High School as a teachers aide, creepily enough, in the old apartment you shared with Sookie for a time. I know that Yuki, the girl Sookie caught you with, wrote you a recommendation letter for your job, because the school in Japan certainly wouldn't have. I know that your mother's maiden name is Pelt, which didn't mean a thing to me until right now."

"Put me down." Bill struggled as I took in the scene, disbelieving everything I was hearing. Eric must have had him checked out. I wasn't mad, I was actually impressed. I was a bit disappointed that he hadn't told me though, but since I couldn't argue that it was a pretty smart thing to do, I'd wait to hear his explanation. I remembered a conversation we'd had in passing after Jason sent his stack of letters in my birthday package, about involving a lawyer if things escalated, but we hadn't discussed it since.

"I'm not quite ready to put you down yet. You see, until now, you did everything right. You stayed away, you kept your letter writing up, but you didn't interfere in my life. But then you had to go and follow us here, and run your mouth and confirm my suspicions that you weren't just content to leave her alone. She's mine Bill. You went from being an annoyance to a threat, and I do not react well to threats. So where do we go from here Bill?" Eric's weird English/Norwegian accent apparently came out when he was angry.

Bill grunted, as Eric slammed him into the wall again. "Another question. How did you find us here?"

I put my hand on his arm, hoping to bring him back from the rage haze he was obviously in."I can answer that one Eric. I've been here, to this store, with Bill before. And to the cafe across the street. They make my favourite pecan pie. I made him come here every time we came to New Orleans. He knew I'd be here. I was going to bring you tomorrow. Remember, we're the better people." I was so angry. Bill would have been easily able to find out that I was living in Europe through the Bon Temps gossip train, especially since I had the revelation that he was related to fucking Debbie Pelt. How had I missed that? Alcide had known that I was in Europe, so of course Debbie would have known. And of course, everyone knew when I came back and left town.

Lorena piped up. "We sat at that fucking cafe for five hours."

"Thank you Lover." He smiled at me a bit tentatively, and then turned back to Bill. "So what now Compton?"

"Hooker, I'll tell you what now." Lafayette's voice boomed behind me. "We are going to take this somewhere a little more private, like we shoulda done when you showed up asking questions about Sook months ago. Move it, you fine piece of man, I want a piece of him." Eric shrugged and dropped Bill to the floor, and moved to stand beside me, as Lafayette and Sam dragged Bill deeper into the alley.

Lorena watched, and then looked to me. "He told me you went crazy. He still has pictures of you around our apartment. I thought you two had remained friends. Sookie, if you need any more information to charge him with any number of things, here's my number." She handed me her business card. Of course she was a therapist. I bet she felt like an idiot, letting Bill manipulate her when she was supposed to know better.

"I'll be in touch." She nodded and smiled weakly at me, and walked away, leaving Bill to his fate.

Eric looked at me, trying to read my very blank expression."I realize that I have some explaining to do."

I sighed. "And I plan on letting you explain, but can we make sure Sam and Laf don't kill him? I don't want them going to prison for me, when he's the one who should be behind bars."

We walked down the alley. Sam had just kicked him the gut. "Guy, please, I don't want you getting in trouble for this."

"If he's smart, he'll keep his mouth shut, or we'll fill Alcide in on what he's been up to." Sam brought his fist up.

"Sookie, please." Bill looked up at me, with a face I'd fallen for more than once.

"No, you know what guys, I got this. Let him go." I was a bit tired of everyone fighting my battles for me. They moved back, but not far enough that they wouldn't easily be able to continue their beating. Eric eyed me curiously.

"Thank you darling. I knew you'd come to your senses." Bill weakly rose to his feet and moved towards me.

"Bill, its really been too long." I reached my arms out and he moved into my embrace. As soon as he was close enough, I brought my knee up, quickly and efficiently and kneed him right in the baby maker. Twice. Growing up with Jason Stackhouse had taught me a thing or two about the force needed to immobilize a man with a a couple of quick blows to the right place. He dropped much faster than he had when Sam kicked him, and moved into the fetal position, clutching his knees. "Oh, did I hurt you?" I batted my eyelashes at him. "Good. Now stay the fuck away from me, or next time I'll let Sam and Lafayette do their worst. And I don't think you want that, do you Bill?" He grunted a response. I leaned down, brushing the hair out of his face. "Take a good look, because this is the last time you will be seeing me. You got it?" I stood up."Leave him. I have Lorena's contact information, and I know where he lives and I will be getting a restraining order against him, which should keep him away from me. That is, if he wants to keep his balls. You hear that Bill?" I turned around, and he hadn't moved.

"Damn Sook, you tough as nails. Remind me never to stalk you bitch."

"Thanks for coming guys. Can you meet us at the hotel in a couple of hours? I need to talk to Eric. Alone."

"Sure Sook, Laf, lets go get some lunch. Call us when you want to get together. We won't be offended if we drove down here to have dinner with you. I'm actually enjoying just having a day off."

"I'll call you in a bit." Lafayette gave us a small wave, as he and Sam walked off in the opposite direction.

We walked back to the hotel in silence. Once we were in the room, with the door closed, I sat down on the couch, still a bit shaky from the events of the day. "Please explain."

He sat down beside me and sighed. "I read, a couple of Bill's letters, after you threw them out, when you went to work on your birthday. They were disturbing to say the least. I had my lawyer hire a private investigator in the states to look into Bill's whereabouts. I wanted to make sure he wasn't in a position to hurt you, or us, or Jake. I knew he was dangerous when he broke into your apartment that night. I kept the investigator on retainer, to keep track of his movements. I wanted to make sure he wasn't anywhere near you. When you came back here without me for the week, I hired the investigator to trail him, but he never went near you in Bon Temps. Little did I know you had your own security team, but I guess Bill knew to stay away."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew I shouldn't have read the letters, but I didn't trust him. After the thing with Pam, I swore I'd trust my gut more on things, and I had a bad feeling. I didn't want you thinking I was an obsessed stalker, looking into your ex-boyfriend. I can show you the entire file when we go back to Norway, I really wasn't trying to be deceptive, there just wasn't much to tell."

"Eric, there was lots to tell. I don't really know how I'm supposed to feel about all this."

"I'm sorry, I knew I should have just told you, but I didn't want you to think I was lying to you."

"When you were, in fact, just being selectively truthful."

"I was acting on a don't ask, don't tell basis. I didn't want you to even have to think about him. I just wanted to keep you safe, and not have to worry about being safe."

I know he was well intentioned. "If you had shared the information with me, I could have made the Pelt connection. We could have avoided all of this. Although it did feel amazing to probably be the cause of Bill's inability to father children in the future."

"I have to admit, I was a bit afraid when you sent Sam and Lafayette away that I was going to suffer a similar fate."

"I'm not that mad. Besides, I'd perhaps someday like to utilize your baby making abilities too, so that wouldn't do me much good. I know you had my best interests at heart, which is important, but I don't like and I won't tolerate you keeping things from me. You've always been honest with me, I don't know why this was any different."

"I know, and I am sorry for that. I don't really know what else I can say beyond that. I'm not sorry for wanting to ensure your safety, even though you keep demonstrating that you don't really need me to do that."

"Were you ever planning to tell me?"

"I would have told you the minute he did anything but write you letters."

"But if that's all he ever did?"

"Then no, I wouldn't have mentioned it, because it wasn't something I wanted to upset you with."

I appreciated his honesty, but I was still a bit annoyed at his answer. "If we are going to do this, get married and be together, we need to be partners Eric. Two sides of the same coin. You can't selectively keep important things from me, because you don't want to hurt my feelings."

"Can we chalk this up to a lesson learned? I promise you Lover, this was the only thing."

I wanted to believe him, and when I searched his face, I knew I did. I guess I'd also kept the Alcide situation from him, for the same reason, even though it was only for a few days, and he'd gotten over that, although he changed his plane ticket like an obsessive jerk beforehand. "You promise, its you and me, in this together? Whatever comes up?"

"I do. I promise." It was make or break time here. I needed to make a decision. I'd have to believe and trust him, like I always had, or I'd have to walk away, as impossible as that would be. I twisted my engagement ring around my finger. Until right now, I'd never doubted him, not even for a second.

"Until this very hour, Eric Northman, I never doubted you, even for a second. I'm angry that you had to go and give me cause to, and I'm even angrier that it was about fucking useless Bill. You better never give me reason to doubt you again." I put my head on his shoulder, and I could feel him let out a breath that he'd been holding for quite some time. Good. I wanted him to sweat a little. I knew he already had my heart, and it wasn't something he was careless with.

"I won't. I promise, Sookie, I won't."

"Well then, I have a hair appointment. I'll see you at the chapel at 6. Do not be late."

"I wouldn't dream of it Lover." We stood up, and I leaned into him, as he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair. "Can I keep the PI on Bill?"

"Hell yea. I want to know the minute that motherfucker makes any plans to cross the Atlantic."


	24. Chapter 24

**Here you have it, the next chapter! I hope everyone likes it, and keep the feedback coming! I'm also looking for some feedback on the next chapter, which you will be able to figure out when you read through this one, so let me know how you think it should go down!**

Eric

When Sookie put her head on my shoulder, I felt my heart start again. I don't know why I didn't tell her. It wasn't something I had even given that much thought to, after I had done it, since I'd never really gotten any updates past the initial one outlining Bill's job and living arrangements.

There had been times when I thought of mentioning it, but I didn't want to bring all the unpleasantness that was Bill up, and she never did, and besides, how do you tell someone that you did a background check on their crazy ex, when they didn't ask you to.

When she was coming back to Bon Temps on her own, I had a minor Bill panic attack, after a sleepless night, thinking of her walking into her house and finding him there or something crazy like what I'd seen in Kyoto. That would have been the perfect time to talk about it, but I'd pussied out. I justified it to myself, saying that he'd never done anything, and the issue would just go away.

When I turned and saw him sitting next to me in the clothing store, I almost decked him, like a reflex or something. Then Sookie seemed to really take care of the situation, and I was happy to let her do that, since it was her situation to take care of. He'd damaged her. I knew she was more than capable of putting Bill in his place, but I snapped when I saw him grab her arm. I knew as soon as the words came out of my mouth, that they would have their intended purpose, as far as Bill was concerned, he'd know I was watching him, but I also knew that they had the potential to make Sookie lose all trust in me, which I'd worked quite hard to build. We both had.

And then, of course, she took care of it, like I knew she would. She really was one of the strongest people I'd ever known, but I still had an overwhelming urge to protect and take care of her, even if she didn't need it. I'd have to figure out how to strike a balance there, since by some strange miracle, she'd still agreed to marry me, and agreed to allow me to continue my Bill surveillance, which, after today's meeting I felt was more necessary than ever. It was important to me that we were both able to live our normal lives, after we got home. It was why I'd gone to such lengths to remedy the tabloid situation.

I sadly watched her walk out the door, her purchases from the store and her makeup bag in hand. I just wanted to keep her close to me, after this afternoon. I knew she was going to meet up with Sam and Lafayette before we met up at the chapel in a few hours, and I didn't think Bill was in any shape to be a threat after the blow she'd dealt him. But I had to know and trust that she knew how to take care of herself.

I got in the shower, after washing the smell of Bill off my hands. Seeing Sookie drop him like that would have been a huge turn on, except that I probably deserved a bit of that too, after, as she called it, selectively truth telling. I wished there was some way that I could prove to her that I wouldn't do it again, but knowing Sookie like I did, I knew that there was no watch, no piece of jewellery I could buy her that would make this right. I'd spend the rest of my life proving it through my actions, which I was looking forward to doing, since I was still going to have the chance to.

I finished cleaning up, and donned my new suit, making sure to put on her grandfather's cufflinks. I felt damn good about the way everything had worked out. Maybe good was the wrong word. More like lucky.

I checked my watch, and since it was only four and the wedding chapel was about a ten minute walk away, I racked my brain, trying to come up with something really special for tonight, besides, well the obvious, which I was also quite looking forward to. But I was always looking forward to that.

Then it hit me. It wouldn't be easy to do, in Louisiana in January, but I'd turn the room into Japan, where this, all this had started. Those first days, weeks, and months we'd spent, being able to truly get to know one another without our past lives, I thought was extremely complicated, that is until I came to know hers, getting in the way. The beautiful landscape, the unobtrusive people, the food. All of it had created the perfect backdrop for our love story. I'd missed my chance to propose there, but I could bring a little bit of that plan into our wedding night.

I hopped down to the lobby and started thumbing through the phone book, until I found a florist that specialized in exotic flowers. Unfortunately, cherry blossoms were completely and hopelessly out of season, but I arranged for every pink flower they had in the store to be sent over and arranged in a Japanese style. I then started calling around local liquor stores to see if I could track down some ume shu, which was easier than I expected. For a fee, they delivered a bottle. The flowers came about an hour, and after a bit of explanation on my end, a mix of hibiscus, orchids, roses, some sort of pink daisy flower, and carnations, were set up around the room, and wired to sticks to look like Osaka castle that lovely day in April. It cost a fortune, but it would be totally worth it. I checked my watch, after everything was set up, and I still had about a half hour to spare. I had the desk clerk call and order a wedding cake to be delivered while we were out.

Heeding Sookie's warning not to be late, I tucked our rings carefully in my pocket and walked down the cobblestone street and stood outside to wait for her. I was a bit confused when a rather stoic and dapper Lafayette showed up instead.

"Sook says you can't see her before the wedding, and we came by earlier and decided you should do it in Audubon park, since its a nice day, and the sun sets around 6:30, so it will be all romantical. I'm supposed to take you over. The minister is waiting."

"Lead the way. Lafayette, thanks for coming today."

"And miss that shit show earlier? Things been boring around here, but that girl really brings the drama."

"Its funny, but for most of the time we've known each other, I brought it. I guess its her turn."

"Well as long as you are experiencing any drama when its just you and her, none of the rest of it really matters. They'll be just over here."

We ducked through a gate, and came up to a little gazebo. "Wait here, I'll go tell them you're ready to go."

After a couple of minutes, I was joined by the man we'd made the arrangements with earlier.

"You got the rings?" I patted my pocket. "All right, here comes your girl."

I looked up to see my girl, escorted by Sam, walking across the grassy park. I was grateful for the lengthy walk she had to take, because it gave me more time to take her in. She really had found the perfect dress, despite everything. It was a lovely, floor-length silvery strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. Because the evening was cool, she'd pared it with a navy blue cardigan, and her Gran's pearls shone around her neck. The most noticeable thing though, was the look of utter and pure contentment on her beautiful face, which I was certain matched my own. Before I knew it, she was an arms reach away, and I held out my hands to her, and she took them.

"Hey."

"Hey. Fancy meeting you here."

"Indeed." We stood there, for a brief moment that felt like hours, taking each other in, with the same eyes we'd both fallen in love with, months ago that felt like years.

The ceremony went by like a flash, and before I knew it, I had a ring on my finger, we had indulged in an extra long kiss that got some applause from a few bystanders, and were sitting on the edge of the gazebo signing our marriage licence on the minister's bible. Sam made his threats about causing me bodily harm if I hurt her, and I assured him it would never come to that.

We thanked the minister and signed a krone that I had in my wallet so he could hang it on the ceiling in the chapel. They had money from all over the world, from all the weddings they'd performed. Lafayette snapped a few pictures, which he promised didn't showcase my broken face, since the sun was setting.

Lafayette and Sam walked with us out to the street, and then we said our goodbyes. Sookie teared up again when she hugged Sam, but he promised to make his way to Norway to visit, and Lafayette insisted that he'd be joining him.

We walked back to the hotel in blissful silence, my arm wrapped tightly around her, stealing kisses from her smiling face.

"Are you hungry, my beautiful wife?" I looked down at her as I unlocked the suite door.

"We'll order room service if we get hungry. The only thing I'm hungry for is you. I missed you this afternoon."

I opened the door and swooped her up, carrying her over the threshold. "I'll do this for real when we go home."

"I'm feeling pretty at home now, husband." I beamed, as I saw her reaction to the very pink room before her. "You did all this this afternoon? It's amazing!"

"Cherry blossoms aren't exactly in season, and it was short notice, but I did my best to recreate the first time we met, complete with ume shu." I nodded towards the bottle. "Sans Bill of course."

"So he's not going to pop out from the bathroom and profess his undying love? Pity." I set her down, and she walked around, taking in the mass of flowers. "I don't think I've ever seen this many flowers outside of spring in Japan."

"I really did want to propose there, so I'm glad you like it. You really do look beautiful, not that you don't always, but especially today. I don't think this day could have been more perfect. Well once we got through that unfortunate incident earlier."

"Its already forgotten." She leaned up, smiling at me, as she began loosening my tie. "Besides, its was a perfect day, because everything was handled perfectly. Its not the situations that life throws at us that makes us who we are, its how we react to them."

"Well put." I slid her cardigan off her shoulders, and ran my hands down her arms. "I got us a little wedding cake. I asked about traditions at the front desk and she said we are supposed to feed each other or mash it in each others faces or something."

"Mmm, well I'd never refuse cake. Especially wedding cake." I went to the barfridge and pulled it out, and we sat down on the couch. "Its so cute!" The bakery had sent over a tiny two-tired cake covered with pink flowers. I guess the front desk clerk had mentioned the mass of flowers going up to the room when she called to order it.

I cut two little pieces and handed her one. "So how exactly do we do this Mrs. Northman?"

"Well Mr. Northman, you hold your piece up like this," She held hers up. "and then we feed each other. On the count of three. One, two, three!" We both bit into the delicious cake at the same time.

Sookie smirked at me, her mouth full of cake. "Good cake. If we do a wedding in Norway, I'm cake smashing you. I just don't want to hurt your nose, so I went easy on you."

"So are we telling people or are we just going to go ahead with the Norway wedding?"

"What about our bands?"

"Lover, I'm happy to do whatever you want. We could just wear them around the house, until we get fake married, or we can just wear them."

"I can't believe we really did it." She held her hand up, and then mine, looking at the rings. "I like you in a wedding band."

"And I like you as Mrs. Northman. Do you want some ume shu?"

"I would love some ume shu, but only a small glass. Despite how well things turned out, I don't want a repeat of our first night together."

I poured us each a glass. "Cheers, Lover. To us." We clinked and had a sip. "Let's decide tomorrow, on the plane if we want to tell everyone. I just want to enjoy having you all to myself, with no thoughts except about right now."

"I think we can do that. So, Mr. Northman, what are you thinking about right now?"

"I've been thinking about what's under that gorgeous dress since I saw you walking towards me in the park."

"Well, what a coincidence, because I've been thinking about showing you." She stood up, and turned her back to me, so I could unzip her dress.

I smiled, as I unzipped her dress, revealing a navy blue corset and matching underwear, complete with garter belt and thigh highs. "This blue is far more elaborate than the boycuts yesterday, although I did quite like those as well." I pulled the dress down, and watched her step out of it, turning to face me. "You look absolutely fuckable in that."I growled a little.

She mock sighed. "Its almost a shame to take it off."

"You won't regret it. That I can promise you." I raised an eyebrow and felt my dick swell as she casually walked over to the bed and reclined, propping herself on on her elbows. I sat on the couch, drinking in the amazing creature before me. I removed my cufflinks, hung up my suit jacket with the pants, all the while never taking my eyes off her. It was amazing, not to be in a rush about anything, and able to take a few extra minutes just looking at her.

"Would you care to join me?" She patted the bed.

"I'm on my way." I walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. "We match."

"Nice touch with the blue briefs."

"I wasn't sure if I had to follow your custom with all the things. I did, just to be on the safe side. I had the new suit, which was also blue, the cufflinks, which I figured counted as old and borrowed, since they were your grandfather's, which would have counted as everything, but then I wasn't sure if one thing could count as more than one, so I decided to wear blue underwear and borrow your shampoo in the shower. I may have also borrowed a bit of your makeup to make my eyes look a little better."

"You really put a lot of thought into that. And it seems your makeup skills are second only to Lafayette. I never would have known."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment." I pulled her onto my lap, wrapped my arms around her lower back. "Now where do I start with this." I slid my hand down her thigh, unclipping one stocking, and then the other, and slid them off her feet.

"You're on the right track I think. Now this corset may be a bit more difficult."

"I'm up for the challenge." I winked, and began unhooking and untying the mass of little hooks and ties. After a few minutes, I was in. "Ah-ha, there they are." I slid the corset to the floor, leaving her in a delectable pair of blue lace panties. She brought her lips down to mine, and I brought my hands up to cup those amazing breasts. After a few minutes, she pulled her lips away.

"You. Inside me. Now." She asked/ordered breathlessly. I laid down and pulled her down with me, then rolled on top of her, sliding her underwear off, while she rid me of mine at the same time. I moaned, as she wrapped her legs around my waist and guided me inside of her. As always, the results were electrifying, but there was a little something else, perhaps it was the final erasing of any uncertainty that I had, that she was wholly and unequivocally mine. We made love until we both nearly passed out from exhaustion, laid in each others arms, ate some more cake in bed, and after a bit of rest and nourishment, were ready to go again.

We awoke the next morning, and after a quick romp in the shower, we headed down to the cafe that Bill had stalked her from for some pecan pie for breakfast. I asked if she really wanted to go, after yesterday and she said, in typical Sookie fashion, that there was no way Bill was going to deprive her of pie that she had once driven the five hours from Bon Temps just to get. We were here, and we were having the damn pie. After one bite, I totally got it.

Our flight back to Oslo was at 6pm, so we had most of the day before we had to go to the airport. We went back to the room, because Sookie wanted to enjoy the mass of flowers a bit longer. We lay down on the bed, the well erected flower canopy still overhead.

"Anything else American you want to do Lover, before we go home?" I really liked that we were calling my house, which was now our house, home.

She smirked, burying her face in my neck. "I never want to do anything American again. I daresay, Mr. Northman, that you have ruined me for Americans forever."

"Good answer. I'd like to ruin you once more in this lovely suite, and then I would like to go get Jake some sort of awful 'someone who loves you went to New Orleans' onesie or something that Pam will absolutely detest."

"Ruin away." She wrapped a leg around mine and met me for a kiss. "I think we should get Pam a matching t-shirt too."

"You have such wonderful ideas."

About an hour later, we said goodbye to the suite, and I made sure to tip housekeeping, since they were going to have an awful flowery mess to clean up. We wandered into a couple of souvenir shops and found the most perfect, tackiest, matching t-shirt and onesie for Pam and Jake, as well as a couple of strings of mardi gras beads, just for fun.

We got to the airport about an hour before our flight, which was lots of time to check in and go through security. When we were finally seated on the plane, Sookie grabbed my hand, with my band on it.

"So what are we going to do? Tell everyone or keep it on the DL?"

"I don't really want to keep it a secret. I'll deal with Mom being a bit upset. We can still have some sort of elaborate party sometime soon, but as far as I'm concerned we're married in my books. With that said, if you want to do the whole traditional wedding, then I will keep my mouth shut, but reserve the right to call you Mrs. Northman when its just you and I there."

She smiled at me. "The only person I was really concerned with being at our wedding was you, so lets just tell everyone and deal with it. I like you in that wedding band, and its not like we have any reason to hide it. It was our wedding, not everyone else's, and it was perfect."

"I agree. I am going to put off seeing my Mom and Pam for a couple of days, until my face is a bit better, because, well I don't really want to hear about it from either of them, in completely opposite ways, but after that, we will have them over for dinner and share our news. Do you mind picking up Jake on your own tomorrow?"

"I'm dying to see him. I can't believe I've only been gone for two weeks. He's probably massive now."

I smiled at my wife, and put an arm around her. She snuggled into my chest and was asleep in moments. After the week of emotional highs and lows, I was actually tired enough to join her a few minutes later.


	25. Chapter 25

**Aw, I'm glad everyone liked the wedding! Keep the fabulous feedback coming! **

Sookie

I woke part-way through our flight, with my head tucked into Eric's shoulder, and his laying on top of mine. I went to move, because my neck was terribly kinked from our position, and I tried my hardest not to disrupt him, since I knew how rare him sleeping on a plane really was. I was unsuccessful though, as he picked his head up, and shook it a little bit.

"How much longer?" He wiped some sleep from his eyes, which were still very black and blue from the weeks events.

"You did pretty good, I think about an hour."

"Wow, you really wore me out." He winked at me and lowered his voice. "Mile-high club?"

Part of me was intrigued, but it would be really embarrassing to get busted. "What if we get caught?" I lowered my voice to match his.

He looked very surprised that I didn't just smack him and downright refuse, which a big part of me wanted to do. However, the smaller, horny part had won out to reason. I could see him mulling it over in his head. "You go to the bathroom, the one in the back, where the flight attendants aren't sitting. Unlock the door in three minutes, and I'll join you. Who cares if we get caught, we can chalk it up to being newlyweds."

He had a point. If I had had more time to think it over, I probably would have also refused, but I found myself getting up from my seat, after making some very smouldering eye contact with my new husband.

I made it to the bathroom and closed and locked the door. Phase one complete. The next three minutes were excruciatingly long, but I was impressed when I looked in the mirror and actually didn't look too bad, after sleeping on a plane for the last 5 hours. At two minutes and 45 seconds on my fancy new watch, I reached over and unlocked the door. I stood there, for a minute, my heart pounding in my chest. Finally, I heard the doorknob turn, and Eric, a huge smirk on his face, joined me silently and locked the door. Without a word, he turned me around, and bent me over the tiny sink. The feeling of being so naughty was the ultimate aphrodisiac. "You're going to have to be quiet Lover. Can you do that?" Eric murmured in my ear, as his hands reached under my dress, sliding down my tights and underwear.

"I'll try." My breathing was hitched before I even felt his hardness against my back. As he entered me, I brought my hand up to cover my mouth. The idea that I had to be quiet made my body want to respond louder.

"You realize that you've ruined me for flying on my own forever Lover?" His breathing sped up a bit, and he buried his head in my shoulder, as he continued thrusting. "Fuck, this is amazing."

I felt my orgasm building, but did my best to keep it under control, until I figured out a way to do it quietly. "Eric, I'm close." I grabbed his hand, which was up my dress, teasing my nipples relentlessly, and held it over my mouth, using my hand to keep my balance.

He held it there. "Me too. Fuck, this is even hotter than I fantasized it being, on all those long ass flights." He began to moan.

"Shhh.."I teased him, pushing back a little harder, and sending him over the edge. I came, biting down on his hand, to keep from crying out, spilling his blood in my mouth. We both collapsed over the sink, his weight heavy on my back.

We laid like that for a minute, our breathing mutually slowing together. I finally spoke. "We should get back to our seats." We both grabbed some tissues and cleaned up a bit. "I'll go out first." I pulled up my tights and smoothed my dress, stopping for a moment to wrap my arms around his neck, and give him a kiss. "See you in a few."

I ducked out of the bathroom, looking suspicious as all hell and made it back to my seat, slinking in and fastening my seatbelt. About two minutes later, Eric slid in next to me, still with that smirk on his face. I loved that smirk.

"I can't believe we pulled that off." I murmured in his ear.

"Honestly, between the sleeping and the sex, I really don't know how I ever flew without you." He wrapped his arm around me, and I nuzzled into his arm. The landing announcement came a few minutes later.

By the time we got in the cab, and back to our house (the our house part felt fantastic), it was pretty late, and damn cold. I started up the steps, but was quickly stopped.

"I told you, Mrs. Northman, I want to carry you over the threshold."

"You're silly, but ok." I wrapped my arms around his neck and he carried me through the door, and set me down on the couch.

"Let me get the luggage, and call Pam about tomorrow, and then we'll go to bed?"

"Sounds good." I lay on the couch, and listened as Eric brought the luggage in, and went in his office to call Pam. They agreed that I'd pick Jake up tomorrow around lunch time. I smiled as Eric made up an excuse about a conference call with his Hong Kong contact that might take most of the afternoon. I understood his hesitation about his face, and it wasn't because he gave a shit what Pam thought, it was because he knew I felt awful, about all of it. He also knew, like any mother, Elsie would obviously make a big fuss about it, which would make me feel worse. I was grateful that he was protecting my feelings, knowing what women, especially the ones in his life, were like. It was going to be hard enough telling everyone we got married without including them, and the last thing either of us wanted was a rift in my very amicable relationship with two very important women in his life, because they certainly weren't going to be placing much blame on perfect Eric. Not that I argued with that, I had a hard time placing any blame on him either, for much of anything.

He came back into the living room and lay down beside me. I examined his face. "Don't take this the wrong way, because it does look better, but I think you should see someone here about your nose. What if it affects your breathing or something? I mean, it looks fine, but I'm no doctor."

"Yea, I'm going to do that tomorrow. I want to make sure there's not more damage than just the bruising. How does it look though? I think the swellings almost gone."

I touched around his nose. "You aren't wincing like you did a couple of days ago, and the bruising is starting to fade. But I would feel much better if you had someone else look at it."

"I do agree. I need to make my work schedule tomorrow as well. I need to spend some time on one of the boats in March, and make an appearance in Hong Kong and Japan before then."

"I'd love to go see Amelia."

"Then you'll come on that trip with me. We should also plan a honeymoon, but it will have to be after Pam's week in April."

"I need to talk to your Mom about applying for schools as well."

"I guess we both have a lot of things to take care of. We'll have to file all the marriage paperwork here too and get your name changed." He smiled at that one.

"That's right. Well, lets tell your parents first, and then we'll take care of all that. We don't need some tabloid reporter catching us at the office or something."

"Good plan. I have a better plan, and it involves you and me in our bed, sleeping."

"Just sleeping? That's very unlike your usual plans."

"We'll make other plans in the morning. After my time with Jake after you left, I think we both need to catch up on our sleep before three days with him."

"Ok, lets go." I got up, and made a lame attempt to pull him up, but luckily he helped out a bit. It felt so good to wash my face in the sink here, and crawl into the cool sheets. I pulled on his t-shirt and pulled his arm around me, and we both fell into sleep.

I woke up, sunlight streaming in the window. I checked the alarm clock. Ugh. "Eric, its 11:30. You told Pam I'd be by in a half hour to pick up Jake."

He rolled over and grunted. "I'll make you breakfast. Just throw on some sweatpants. She knows we got in late."

I pulled myself out of his arms and made my way to the bathroom. Thank God Pam lived so close. I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair up in a ponytail. I found some yoga pants and a hoodie and made my way downstairs. I pulled on all my winter gear, warmed up the SUV and made my way over, all the while cursing Eric for his broken face. Pam would have happily dropped Jake off. I smiled when I found a parking spot right in front of Pam's building, and then again, when I thought of seeing Jake.

I buzzed and Pam let me in. She was standing there, with the door open, holding Jake, and looking tired, when I made my way up to her door. "Sookie Stackhouse, you're a sight for sore eyes. How was Louisiana?"

"I'm not quite ready to talk about it, except to say I'm pretty damn happy to be back. Do you want to come over for dinner when you pick Jake up in a few days? I have a little present for you."

"Sure. Call if you need anything. Jake's been sleeping more, but he'll be happy to see Eric, and by him, I mean me, and by Eric, I mean both of you." She handed him over. "Here's his bag."

"Thanks Pam. We'll see you soon." I gave Jake a kiss, and we were on our way. I pulled in the garage and groaned when I noticed Elsie's car parked in the driveway. So much for that plan.

"Maybe Granma will be happy when she sees your little face." I cooded at him, as I got him out of his carseat. I slowly opened the garage door, and took Jake into the living room, past Eric's office. I really didn't want to get in the middle of things if they were fighting, and Elsie's voice was raised.

"Eric, you need to go to the hospital. I can't believe you flew with your face like that."

"I'm fine. I'm going to go see the doctor tomorrow. I just made an appointment." Things seemed ok, so I poked my face in.

"Hi Elsie."

"Hi Sookie, perhaps you would like to tell me what happened to my son's face. He doesn't seem to want to regale me with your adventures in Louisiana."

I looked at Eric, who shrugged, and then his eyes lit up when he saw Jake. "There's my boy." I handed him over. "Mom, its really not much worth telling." He cooed at him and sat him on his lap.

"My ex-boyfriend and Eric got in two fights. Well, one wasn't actually a fight, one was more like a cheap shot. He's been to a doctor in Louisiana." I waited for her to freak out on me, but she turned to Eric.

"What are you, in tenth grade again? Jesus Eric. Fighting? You have a child."

"Mom, I'm not doing this. I'm tired and we just got back. We can talk about this in a few days." He got up, and gave her a hug, using Jake as a buffer. Smart. "Why don't you and Dad come over for dinner in a few days." I was glad he didn't trying and pull that deflecting shit with me, but maybe it was easier to buy from your son than your husband.

"Fine. Please call me after you go to the doctor tomorrow though. I'm just concerned."

I thought I'd try and change the subject. "Elsie, can we talk about registering for university programs sometime?"

"Of course Sookie. Make sure he calls me." She gave Jake a little kiss and headed out the door.

When we heard her pull out of the driveway, we both breathed a collective sigh of relief. " She didn't notice the rings."

"Yea, the two things in one day may have been a bit much to deal with."

"Just for the record, if you are ever deflective like you were with her, with me, we're going to have a problem."

"She knows when she's being too motherly. I'm a bit too old to be explaining myself to her." Subject change time. I had no idea how adult children interacted with their parents. Maybe deflection was the name of the game. "Jake looks even bigger than he did when I left." He carried him into the living room, and the three of us curled up on the couch.

"He's pretty awesome. He smiled when I picked him up from Pam. I think he remembered me."

"Of course he remembers you. He's seen as much of you as he has of me or Pam. You're officially his step-mom now."

"I know. I was thinking that on the drive over. What do you think he'll call me?"

"Well, Pam will probably be Mor, so you can probably have Mom if you want it. I guess we'll be the English house, and Pam can speak Norwegian to him."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'd be quite honoured to be Mom. But I do want to learn Norwegian."

"I don't suggest you learn from me. Mine is, what did teachers used to say, flawed, especially since I speak so much English for work."

"I think I'd do better to take a class. Maybe I'll focus on that until I can start university in the fall."

"I'm sure you would have no problems finding a course. I'd also really like you to learn about my family business too, because I'd like you to come with me when you can."

"I'd be up for that for sure." Eric got up to get Jake some formula, while I played peek-a-boo with him on my lap. "Eric?"

"Yea?"

"Can I see the Bill file?" I had to ask, just in case there was anything in there that I would see as important.

"Yea, just a minute." He sounded slightly annoyed. Too bad.

He came back a few minutes later, with a bottle of formula and a very fat file. "There's not really much in there, besides what I told you, but go to it."

"Are you mad?"

"No, I just didn't want to think about any of that, since we're back now."

"I just need to make sure you didn't miss anything. Like with Pelt."

"I know." He picked up Jake and started feeding him. "Lets get it over with."

The first page I came to, was the most recent bill for Bill's research. My eyes went wide. "You paid $40,000 to have him watched? Eric, that's more than I earned in a year teaching."

He shrugged. "A small price to pay to ensure our security. Lover, I don't really have to worry about money. It was well worth it."

We'd have to talk money eventually I guess, but this was about the Bill file. "I can't believe he moved into my old apartment, with Lorena." I kept flipping. "And that he works with kids." a couple pages further. "You really didn't leave a thing out."

"I told you. No more of that." He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "And I'll take the rest of our lives proving that to you."

"You don't have to do that. Just don't do it again."

Jake was already sleeping more soundly than when I left for Louisiana. He went to bed around 9pm, and slept until about 4am, only getting up once to eat and have his diaper changed. Eric and I watched a movie, and actually had a bit of adult time, which had been much harder before I left.

We woke up the next morning, and Jake and I went with Eric to the doctor. The doctor in Monroe had actually done a good job setting it,and he didn't see any problems with just letting it heal. I also managed to get him to write me a new prescription for birth control pills, since I hadn't had it renewed in the states. I was about a week from running out, so the timing was perfect.

We were low on groceries, so we stopped off on the way and got food for tonight, and for our big reveal meal. We decided on spaghetti, and salad. I don't really know what the protocol for an eloping announcement meal is, but we made sure to get a bit of wine, and by a bit, I mean a lot.


	26. Chapter 26

**Here you have it, the great reveal! I hope its all everyone expected! Keep the feedback coming!  
**

Sookie

We got home, made a quick pizza, and settled down to watch another movie, with Jake in his little seat snoozing away, since he missed his afternoon nap. I made sure Eric called his Mom. That I could do.

"He's such a cutie, all sleeping like that." I smiled over at Eric, who was beaming over at him.

"Its hard to believe that I made him, well I guess technically Pam made him, but that he's half me."

"I think he's going to look a lot like you. He's already starting to." And he was. His thick blond hair was growing in a bit, and his eyes were all Eric.

"How many kids do you want to have?" The way he asked it, I could tell it was something he'd wanted to ask for a while.

"How many do you want to have?"

"You first."

"On three. One, two, three."

"Two."

"Two."

"Phew. My biggest fear is that you were going to say something like seven."

"Mine too. After Jake, I think I'd have about two more times left in me. This baby stuff is hard work, and he's only part time."

"Well lets hope it would be nothing as stressful as his beginning."

"When?"

"When what?"

"When do you want to have them?" Ah, the birth control pills. I knew something had sparked this sudden interest in reproduction.

"I don't know. I always thought maybe when I was around 30?"

"So in three years?" Yikes, was I that old? When did that happen?

"Yea, I think so. What do you think?"

"So that will put Jake at 4. That seems like a good divide. Can four year olds change diapers?"

"Its funny the things we didn't talk about before we got married. I guess we would have been in big trouble if we were clashing on a bunch of things."

"I think we would have worked it out."

"I know we would have. We seem to be able to work out most anything."

He was right. "I think its because we are honest with each other. Knowing that makes it easier to work through things that might come up."

"That or we're soulmates." Eric winked at me.

"Maybe so." I smiled back. "So what's the plan of attack for tomorrow? Do we tell Pam and your parents separately or together?"

"Lets tell Pam first. I'll tell her to come over around 4. That way we don't have to worry about her reaction being inappropriate and freaking Mom out anymore than she's already going to be."

"Sounds good." I was following Eric's lead on this one. I sent Jason an email to tell him, and I hadn't even heard back.

We spent the rest of the evening cleaning up two days worth of baby, and Eric booked our tickets for Japan in two weeks. I emailed Amelia to tell her I was coming for a visit, and she wrote back immediately, telling me that Tray had moved in with her in our old apartment, so I was welcome to my old room if I wanted to come to Kyoto, or that her and Tray would be happy to meet me in Osaka for the night. I opted for the Osaka option, since I knew Eric had to meet with someone there anyway. We convinced Jake to stay up until around 11pm, which was no small feat, but it meant we'd get to sleep in until around 6 or 7am with one or two wake ups.

We both crawled into bed. I rolled over on my side and ended up nose to nose with my very handsome and somewhat less black and blue husband. "I love you. And I can't wait to have your baby someday."

"And I can't wait for you to get all round and your amazing breasts to get larger and for all the practising we have to do until we get it just right." He reached down and pulled my shirt over my head. "You know, if I had it my way, you'd walk around topless all day, but only for me."

"Maybe we can do a topless Tuesday sometime." I winked at him as he slid himself between my legs, and removed my underwear with his teeth. Within seconds he he had me up on my knees, his head planted firmly between my thighs. I rested my hands on his chest, as he did what he did best. I'd decided this was his finest skill. Sure he was a good listener, a fantastic kisser, great with his gracious plenty, but this, this was, zero to orgasm in less than 3 minutes. And not just some minor tremor orgasm, more like like a 7 to 9 on the richter scale. If I thought of unappealing things, I could drag it out longer, but who really wants to do that. I could always have another one later. I moaned louder, as he moved a hand up to my breast and pinched lightly, sending me over the edge.

I sat back on my heels, willing the spots from my eyes. "You are truly the god of that."

He slid up beside me, and pulled me on top of him. I really loved everything about him, when we were in this position, well in any position. His arms were amazing, those abs, really all of it. His body was to die for. I slid myself onto him, and relished in his moan when I took him completely inside of me. His size was still deliciously painful at first, but always transformed to amazing by the second thrust. "You feel amazing." He moaned into my mouth, as he propped himself up his elbows to meet my lips, and brought his hips up to meet mine. We met each other thrust for thrust, until I saw the glossy look flash over Eric's eyes as he began to pulse inside of me, setting me off as well. As if on cue, Jake started crying. He groaned, followed by a non orgasm groan.

"At least he waited until you finished." I smirked at him, as he pulled his briefs on.

"Let me just bring him and we can return to our post-coital bliss."

I pulled his t-shirt over my head, as he brought Jake in and lay him between us. "He's been sleeping with Pam. We'll just lay with him until he falls asleep." Jake stopped crying instantly. "That's what he wanted. We'll just stick him in the bassinet once he falls asleep."

"Sounds good." I smiled, as Eric lay him on his chest, and pulled me into his arm. "Nothing is hotter than you and that baby. You know, all the nurses loved you in the hospital." I know I didn't need to contribute to his already swollen ego, but I couldn't help it.

"I know they did. I used to get shamelessly flirted with all the time when you'd be upstairs with Pam. They'd always ask if you were my sister, with hope in their eyes. You crushed a lot of dreams with that ring."

"You're so full of yourself."

"You brought it up. Besides, you're the one who is so desirable that you had men physically fighting over you last week. On more than one occasion."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"As if I could forget it, with this face." We drifted off to sleep, and I stirred slightly when I felt Eric get up and put Jake in the bassinet at the end of the bed.

***

Eric

I woke the next morning, Sookie's head still resting on my chest. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, and eased my way out from under her, and I poked my head in on Jake, who was awake but happily playing with his feet. "Hey Buddy, lets go take a shower." On our last doctor's appointment, the doctor had suggested trying him in the shower, since he seemed to hate the bath. It always ended in screams, which obviously wasn't pleasant for either of us. Pam had said the shower was going a little better, so it seemed as good a time as any.

It went better than expected. I managed to wash his peach fuzz without getting shampoo in his eyes, which was pretty good, and just as I was trying to figure out how I was going to clean myself with a slippery baby in hand, Sookie came in.

"Do you want me to take him? How are you planning to clean yourself?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead. Thanks Lover."

"That's what I'm here for." She smiled and took Jake, and wrapped him up in a giant towel.

When I got out of the shower, she'd popped him in his little seat and was cleaning like a fiend. "You ok? The house was pretty clean."

"I don't want anyone thinking that you married a poor housekeeper."

I caught her by the couch and pulled her onto my lap. "I really don't want you worrying about this. They'll get over it, if they're even mad. I'm sure they'll care more that we're happy than if they got to witness some silly ceremony. Not that our ceremony was silly. Happiest day of my life. Well maybe on par with Jake's birth. I'm going to shut up now."

"I just feel bad. You're their only child, and its an important milestone. I wouldn't change our day for anything, but I just don't want them to think we didn't care."

"Please, just don't worry about it. They know you're perfect for me in every way that counts. You love me, you love Jake, that's really all there is."

"Ok, I'll try not to worry, but it would help if you cleaned the oven."

"Fine, Lover. If that will help."

I spent the next three hours scrubbing two years worth of grime out of the oven. Apparently oven cleaning hadn't been high on mine or Pam's list of priorities. When she arrived around 4, she nearly keeled over at the sight of me in rubber gloves.

"You know, you can hire people to do that. What the hell happened to your face? Is that from your fight with Sookie's ex?"

"Not before dinner you can't, and yes, it is. The nose is from round two, which I clearly lost." Sookie popped in a few minutes later, holding Jake. "Pam, sit down. We have something to tell you."

"Jesus, you aren't having another baby are you? Don't you think one bastard child is enough?" And that was the reaction we didn't want in front of my mother.

"We aren't having a baby." I looked at Sookie. "Yet." She raised her eyebrows at me. "But we won't be having any more bastard children in this family. And you shouldn't refer to our son like that."

"Jesus Eric, I was just joking. What are you getting at?" I wasn't in the mood for Pam's jokes.

"Sookie and I got married in New Orleans last week."

"Your mom is going to kill you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence on that one."

"Seriously, she was excited about our wedding, and she didn't and doesn't like half as much as she likes Sookie."

"Thanks Pam." Sookie bounced Jake on her knee and he grinned, and then spit up a bit. I passed her a towel.

"And she's going to be even more mad that you didn't tell her you were doing it. Days of deceit there."

"Not helping. So you think she's going to be mad?"

"Yep, I do. Sorry, but you guys really should have thought that out. Eric, you're her baby." She reached for Jake, and Sookie passed him over. "If you ever pull that Jake, you'll be in big trouble. You hear me mister?"

I was a bit freaked out by Pam's reaction, since Jake was her only son, and the parallels were pretty much the same. Jake wasn't even walking and she was already thinking about how mad she'd be, which means that Mom had almost thirty years to think about this. I looked at Sookie.

She shrugged. "Well we've already done it."

"Now you're ok?" She who was cleaning like a freak an hour ago.

"I don't like the unknown. I can deal with terrible better than unknown."

"You got married with your face looking like that?" Pam cocked her head.

"Pam, if we weren't planning on using you and Jake for a buffer you'd have outstayed your welcome." I cocked my head back. "You aren't helping. We did it because we wanted to. We, being the people who this concerns."

"Hey, I don't care that you got married. Don't take this out on me. I'm glad I didn't have to put on some awful dress and attend my baby daddy's wedding."

Yep, that would be pretty awkward. Not as awkward as running into Bill, but pretty damn awkward. "Well we spared you that, I guess that's consolation." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Well, if you want to be an ass, then your son and I will be on our way."

Sookie, who'd been quite quiet, probably because neither of us had given her a second to get a word in edgewise, stopped our petty bickering. "Pam, please stay. You don't even have to say anything."

"Fine, I'll stay for Sookie."

"As if you would leave and miss all the drama. You live for this."

"I am dying to see Elsie's reaction. It will probably be second only to when I dropped her ring off that day."

"Would you mind not bringing that up?" Maybe Pam was a bad idea. I didn't want to know how that conversation went. At least Jake was here.

Pam spent the next twenty minutes ribbing me about my face, until we heard a familiar car pull into the driveway and everything went silent.

"I'll get the door." I got up and let them in.

"Hey you." Mom wrapped me up in a huge hug. "Your face looks better. So the doctor thought it was healing well?"

"Yep, he said it looked good. Well not good, but like it was healing. Hey Dad."

"Hey." He gave me a hug. "You book that trip to Hong Kong?"

"Yep, in three weeks. My face will be fine by then."

"I think you should go now. You look intimidating. Make them think we mean business." He winked. "We brought wine." Good, more wine. We bought three bottles yesterday. "Thanks, come on in."

They kicked off their boots and giant coats, and joined us at the kitchen table. "There's our boy. Hi Pam. Hey Sookie." Mom grabbed Jake and gave him about a million kisses.

"Hi Elsie, Peter." Pam had a delightful smirk on her face. Bitch.

I sat down beside Sookie, giving her hand a squeeze. She had an awkward smile on her face. "Hey."

"So, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Anyone want some wine?" I know I wanted some.

Everyone said they wanted some, and Pam smirked as Sookie drank hers in one gulp. Everyone sat down and picked at the cheese and crackers that we'd put out.

Now or never I guess. "So we have some news."

"Oh? Sookie, did you sell your house? Eric, I'm still waiting to hear more about what happened to your face?"

"Yes, I did. Believe it or not, the person who bought my house, and the person who broke Eric's face are one and the same."

"Wow, that's quite a price to pay."

"He thought buying my house would make me take him back, or move back, or something. He's certifiable."

"Sounds like it. Well we're glad your back." Sookie smiled broadly at Mom. Who was was deflecting now?

"We have some other news." Everyone silently sat, waiting for me to speak. Pam looked like she was going to lose it laughing. Sookie had turned a shade of bright red. "Sookie and I got married in New Orleans last week."

"But you were going to get married here. We looked at locations. Eric, you were the only wedding I get. How could you be so selfish?" Mom looked completely hurt.

"Mom, we just wanted to do it. It was very spontaneous."

"You didn't even call. Eric, I don't even know what to say. Sookie, are you pregnant? We were going to go look at dresses."

Pam piped up. "That's what I said!" Mom shot Pam a shut up look. I really never wanted to know what transpired when she returned her ring.

"No, I'm not pregnant. Eric asked and we just decided to do it. We weren't trying to hurt anyone, we just wanted to do it. It just felt right. We've never really done things conventionally." She wasn't kidding on that one.

"Well what about your family? Was your brother there? Did you even take any pictures?" Please don't say anything about Sam and Lafayette, please don't say anything about Sam and Lafayette.

"No, I called him when we got back." Phew. Knowing that Sookie had had people there wasn't going to make her happy. She'd actually emailed and never got a response. He was such a fucker.

Mom went on for a few moreminutes, which seemed like hours and was just more of the same. Sookie looked close to breaking. She didn't have years of parental guilt under her belt like Pam and I. Mom was just about to launch into 23 hours of labour guilt when I looked over at Dad, who had a giant smirk on his face, and Jake on his lap. Mom looked over at the same time.

" Why are you so happy? Are you happy that our son broke my heart?"

"El, stop being so anti-climactic. Besides, Eric, unless you are really planning to break your mother's heart and abandon your son and move to Louisiana, you are going to have to get married here as well."

"What are you talking about?" Mom, Sookie and I turned and looked at him.

"Don't you remember when we were trying to decide if we wanted to get married here or in Canada? We decided on here, so we wouldn't have to do it twice, because we would have had to have a Norwegian minister and licence here too. So unless the law has changed, which I highly doubt, since the law never changes here, then you two are going to have to do, at minimal, a civil ceremony here."


	27. Chapter 27

**For the record, I don't know if the marriage is valid in Norway. Someone sent me a message saying that it wasn't and it seemed to fit into the plot perfectly. Thanks for all the feedback and keep it coming! Its a great reward for this most enjoyable writing!**

"So we aren't married?" Sookie cocked her head at Dad.

"You are most certainly married. It's just not recognized here." Dad smiled, looking like he had all the answers. I guess he did. Jake giggled and Pam looked like she was going to wet herself. "If you want to stay in the country, you'll have to do it here as well."

"So we just need to go get something signed and witnessed then?"

"Oh no you don't Eric Northman." Mom caught onto the glimmer of hope that she might still get a wedding. "I'm at least getting a ceremony out of you, since you both deprived me of a real wedding."

She was laying it on thick and I knew she had Sookie fearing for her wedded life. I think she'd agree with whatever she wanted, with the look she was passing between the two of us. A mom wedding would be clean, elegant, something out of those InStyle wedding magazines I always passed at the airport. Totally not what we'd pulled off in New Orleans, which had been quick, dirty, and totally awesome. I looked at Sookie, who shrugged her shoulders non committaly. "Well then, Pam, I guess you'll have to pick out some ugly dress and a tiny suit for Jake."

She rolled her eyes. "Great."

Mom looked at her, with a look that I was glad was not directed at me. "Pamela, you already deprived me of one wedding. You will not ruin this one." Nice. I was starting to think that Mom was menopausal. Her moods were really something lately, and appropriacy went right out the window. Naturally, Dad loved it.

"So I guess we aren't waiting a year and a half?" She was happy now. Grinning like a fool. Terrifying.

"Yea, let's get this over with." I shrugged and winked at Sookie.

"Eric, you will enjoy this day. It's your wedding, with my beautiful future daughter-in-law." Back to authoritative. Yikes.

"All right. Sookie and I will talk over what we want to do, when you all leave after dinner. You'll get your wedding Mother, but it will be what we want. No ice sculptures."

"Sookie, I'll get to meet your lovely brother." Mom beamed at her.

Sookie looked a little ill."Yes, I suppose you will. Maybe some of my other friends will be able to make it."

"Sookie has a drag queen friend that you'd just adore Pam."

"Eric, I like women, not men that look like women." Pam deadpanned at me, and Mom looked uncomfortable. Probably at the thought of Pam with women. Little Pam that she'd watched grow up. Little Pam that I'd snuck out my window. Her potential daughter-in-law. I wonder if she knew that I'd already seen it. Firsthand. On many occasions.

"Ok, dinner looks ready." Sookie and I got up and brought dinner over. She shot me a look at the kitchen sink that indicated that we had some serious talking to do later. I concurred.

We had a lovely dinner, with Mom talking about all the bridal shows that her and Sookie could go to, her favourite flower shop, cake tastings, dress shops. Sookie polished off a bottle of wine on her own.

Finally, everyone went on their way, with Pam sticking around for a few minutes after a very tipsy Mom had been carried out by a very smirking Dad.

"Eric, Sookie, thanks for the show. That was brilliant. Totally worth the price of admission."

"Thanks for staying Pam" Sookie hugged her, as she headed out the door.

"Well, that was interesting." She closed the door behind her.

"Yea. Thanks for not mentioning Sam and Lafayette. That would have freaked her out royally."

"Yea, I almost slipped, but I stopped myself."

"So when do you want to do this?"

"Second wedding? I'll do it now, tomorrow, whenever you want." She wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Its going to be awful. Lots of planning, dress fittings, cake tastings, although I may want in on the cake tasting if its what it sounds like."

"It is what it sounds like. If your Mom wants it, I'll just go along for the ride. I already had my day. Eric, is your mom menopausal?"

"Yea, after tonight, I would say she sure is." I sighed. "If you invite Sam and Lafayette, you'll have to swear them to secrecy."

"Maybe I'll invite Alcide, just to mix things up."

"I'm sure I could get my PI to track Bill down."

"Great, we've already started our guest list then." She sighed. "You know what was so nice about our wedding?"

"Everything?"

"Yea, but what I was going to say was I didn't have to think about Gran, and Mom and Dad not being there, because it was just you and I."

"I know. We'll get through this though. And it is just you and I, as soon as its not, I don't want to do it." I kissed her hair and led her into the living room. She thumped down on the couch. "Do you want some more wine?" I winked.

"I don't think I need anymore wine. Although it did help get me through that first of what I'm sure will be many awful conversations."

"Amen to that." Hopefully wedding planning wouldn't turn my wife into an alcoholic. We put on a movie and she fell asleep leaning on me.

About two hours later, I awoke to the feeling of my pants being undone. I opened one eye, and then quickly closed it. If she wanted to wake me up like that, who was I to ruin her plan? After a few minutes, my whimpers and groans, and an 'Oh fuck' later, it was obvious that she'd woken me. I looked down as she removed her mouth from me.

"Lover, that's one hell of a wake up." One look at her beautiful flushed face let me know she was still a bit drunk from earlier. Lowered inhibitions were a-ok with me.

She gave me her sexiest drunk face, and she climbed onto my lap. "You like that? How about this."

I moaned as she lowered herself onto me, in one swift movement. "You know I like that." She leaned up and unbuttoned my shirt."Are we going for Topless Thursday around here?"

"Sure. I like your chest almost as much as you like mine." She giggled, as I pulled her shirt over her head. I groaned again, as she began quickening her pace. After a glorious build-up, I finished, arching my back on my final thrust.

When I'd gotten my head back, I looked at her, and she was pouting. "Lover, what's wrong?" I pulled her into my chest.

"Can you go again?" Who the hell could say no to that. "I was just getting warmed up." Clearly drunk Sookie had a higher tolerance than sober Sookie to my sexabilities.

"Sure, give me a minute." I pulled out and flipped her onto her back, burying my face in her. After a few minutes I was ready to go again, and moved myself on top of her.

It turned out that drunk Sookie was not only more tolerant, she was also relentless. I lost track of her orgasms after a while, and then my own.

***

Sookie

I woke up, the sunlight streaming in the living room windows, increasing the intensity of my headache. When I mustered the strength to roll over, I found Eric, laying next to me, naked as the day he was born. I was wrapped in the blanket from the couch, which I must have pulled off of him. I moved some of it back onto him and he stretched.

"I feel like I was hit by a freight train. Its so bright in here." I squinted at him.

"Lover, you literally fucked the fuck right out of me. I couldn't even get us up to bed. You stole the blankets."

It all came back to me, well parts of it. "That was wild. I think I'm going to throw up." I got up, and ran to the bathroom, realizing that I was also wearing nothing.

Eric joined me a minute later, and rubbed my back a bit. "You really went to town with that wine."

"It was kind of a high tense evening."

"You were pretty tightly wound when you came to." He smirked at me. I smacked his arm.

"Can you get my robe?"

"Sure." He came back a couple of minutes later, with my robe and a huge glass of water. "Drink this, you'll feel better."

I made my best attempt to down the glass of water, although fearful that most of it would come back up. "That's my girl. Now go lay on the couch and I'll make you breakfast. Return the favour for that time this summer." He helped me off the cool tile floor and onto the couch. I slept for a bit, until the smell of bacon roused me.

"Here you go." A full southern breakfast, compete with grits. No wonder I married this man.

"You are fantastic."

"I try. I have to do some work today, so just give me a shout if you need me." He kissed my forehead and went into his office.

I spent most of the day on the couch, alternating between awake and asleep. At about 5, Eric joined me on the couch, fully clothed and showered, in complete contrast to me.

"I have a surprise for you."

"Can I get dressed first?" I looked down at myself, not feeling my hottest.

"Sure. Just come grab me from my office when you're ready."

I pulled myself upstairs and showered and then joined Eric in his office. "At least one of us was productive today."

"I'm going to go fishing for a week in March. I need to see how things are going."

"I thought you just worked with exporting stuff. Why do you need to go fishing?"

"We own several boats. I thought I told you that. Dad and I always try to get out a couple of times a year, to make sure everything is running smoothly. Make sure things are as productive as possible. Its kind of fun too."

"Do you actually fish?"

"I do everything. Dad always ran his business with the idea that knowing how everything worked made things more successful, because you could identify with the people who are directly responsible for the fish, which equals the money."

"That makes sense."

"Grab your coat and boots. You have to go outside for your surprise."

"Ok?" I was pretty curious.

We got outside, and I noticed a couple of trees on either side of the stairs by the front doors. "You planted trees? The ground is frozen."

"Boy, is it ever. It took me an hour. Do you like them?"

"Yea, they're nice. Did you go out and buy them?"

"Yea, you didn't even hear me leave. Do you know why I bought them?"

"Because you like trees?" No idea.

"Its tradition here to plant two fir trees outside of newlyweds houses. Its supposed to encourage fertility."

"That's very sweet, but we aren't married in Norway."

He wrapped an arm around me. "We are as far as I'm concerned.

"That's sweet. Will we have to hide them when your Mom comes around?"

"No. We already had our wedding, so she'll have to deal with it."

"Thank you." I really wasn't looking forward to a big wedding. It was really just going to be a reminder of all the people who weren't there. I'd do this for Eric's mom, but my heart really wasn't going to be in it. Knowing we were already married would make it easier to deal with.

The next couple of weeks flew by, and then we were going to Japan. I was really excited to see Amelia and fill her in on our further adventures with Bill. She'd get a kick out of the Alcide story too. We'd picked a date for our wedding, April 25th, which was close enough that it would be over soon. I'd found a dress, some sort of vintage designer one that Elsie adored and I actually really liked. Pam was impressed when I told her the designer's name, even though I had no idea who he or she was. We'd made up invitations, and I'd sent a few to select Bon Tempians, including my brother and his baby momma, Lafayette, Tara, and Sam of course. I was hand delivering Amelia's when we saw her, and it was with a plus one, in case Tray was able to make it. I knew Amelia would come.

We had a fantastic time in Japan, even though it was a working trip for Eric. I had gotten to know a few of his clients from the last visit, and I was thrilled to see Shinji and his lovely wife and daughter in Tokyo before we headed to Osaka to meet up with Amelia. Eric and I met her and Tray at the okonomiyaki restaurant that we had our first date at, and I was beyond impressed when Eric opened the door to the same suite that we'd spent that first fateful night in. He was well rewarded for his thoughtfulness, and our night turned out very differently than the last time we stayed there.

Amelia, Tray and I spent the next day walking around the city, while Eric had his meetings. We met up again for dinner before they headed back to Kyoto. Amelia of course, RSVP'd on the spot, and Tray sounded like he'd make it to the wedding too.

When we returned to Norway this time, I immediately noticed how much more like home it felt. All my things from Bon Temps had arrived, and even though most of them ended up in the spare room, it still felt like home having them there. I replaced Eric's couch blanket with one of Gran's quilts, which made me smile every time I wrapped myself up in it. The day after we got back, Eric's mom took us cake testing and to look at a couple more locations. The wedding was coming together quite well, quickly, and relatively painlessly, although I still had a cry every now and then, especially at the thought of Jason walking me down the isle, which he had insisted on doing when he RSVP'd. Its not like I could say no, but I was glad Sam had been there at the American wedding, which is what we were calling it. Sam and Lafayette also agreed to come, but Tara had to decline, since she was pregnant, and due to pop on April 20th.

We were back from Japan for a couple of weeks, and then Eric left for his Hong Kong trip, which signalled the first time I was alone since I moved here. I still took Jake for Pam for a few days, which was kind of fun, just the two of us. We talked on the phone every night, but I ended up hauling Jake's bassinet down to the living room and sleeping on the couch for 4 of the 5 nights, he was gone, because our bed didn't feel the same without him. I went out for lunch with Elsie and Pam, separately of course, and started my Norwegian class, which was two hours a week. I'd signed up to start my masters part-time in September, which I was really looking forward to. I'd always enjoyed school, and I would be happy to start working again, once I finished my year.

When Eric strolled in the door, suitcase in hand, I was on him immediately.

"Easy there tiger. You'd think you missed me or something."

"I missed you tons. Do you really have to go fishing in two weeks? If you stay, we can do topless Tuesday..."

"Can't we do it anyway? I really do have to go, but then I won't be going anywhere until after our Norwegian wedding."

"Good. So I guess we better make the most of the next two weeks." I stood on my tippy toes and kissed him. "I made you dinner."

"And it smells amazing." I led him into the kitchen and sat down on his lap.

"Your mom dropped a Norwegian cookbook. I thought meatballs were Swedish, but apparently they are Norwegian too."

"Swedes, taking the credit for everything. These are fantastic." He dug into the plate I'd left in the oven.

"Thank you. I ate earlier. You're a little later than I thought."

"Damn planes are never on time. If I'd known you made dinner, I would have been more insistent."

"How was your first flight without me in a while?"

"Terrible. No sleeping or sex. How was Jake for you?"

"Fantastic. He always looks for you when you aren't here though. Its cute."

I smiled as Eric plowed his way through dinner, and then carried me upstairs and reminded me how much I really had missed him. Twice.


	28. Chapter 28

**Thanks for all the feedback and keep it coming! I think I answered a question that some of you had in this one! **

I sat at the end of our bed, pouting as Eric packed his bag. "What are you going to do on this fishing boat?"

"Man the nets, navigate, the whole deal." He threw in a towel. "I'll call you. My phone still works out there."

"You better. And you better be careful. Its not like Deadliest Catch is it?"

"What?"

"The fishing show, with the sexy crab fisherman, who risk their lives to bring in the crabs."

"No, Its not like that. Its usually pretty mundane. Lots of seasickness, rough water, smelly fish."

"I wish you didn't have to go. I feel like you just got back." I kept my pout on.

"I'll be back for a while after this. Besides, I thought you liked my Viking nature. This is as close to Viking as one can get these days. If I was a real Viking, I'd be out pillaging for months at a time, raiding villages, bringing home women to cook and clean for me." He came and sat beside me and pulled me onto his lap. "Although I guess that's kind of what happened with you."

I tried to wriggle off his lap, but with no success. "Watch it mister. I'm going back to school in the fall, and then you'll have to fend for yourself."

"But you'll still let me pillage you, right?" He raised his eyebrow deliciously.

"Maybe I'll start making it more of a struggle for you. I'm sure pillaging women was never easy." I again tried and failed to pull away.

"Are you starting now?"

"Why, do you want to pillage me?"

"Always Lover, always." He pulled my lips to his. I struggled for another minute or so, and then gave in to his amazing kissing. "That was easy."

"I'm sorry, the idea of you pillaging me was a huge turn on. I don't suppose you have the whole Viking regalia do you?"

"I don't. I have a floater coat and some rubber boots. Modern day Viking regalia?"

I thought about it for a minute. "I'll just pretend you're wearing furs and a helmet." I'd smelled that floater coat, and it wasn't pretty.

"Good, because that coat doesn't smell very good. Showers on the boat are few and far between."

I wrinkled up my nose. "Awesome." His hands slid up my thighs, and around to grab my ass. "The only good part about you leaving, is that you come back, and getting a weeks worth of you all in one day."

"You're damn right. And I get to give you something to remember me by." I shivered as he removed my underwear. I moved and wrapped my legs around his waist. He stood up, and I held on for dear life. "Shower?"

"Yes please."

I moped around for hours after he left, looking incredibly handsome, even in an orange floater coat and black rubber boots. The day went by painfully slow, and after I cleaned the house from top to bottom and made room for Gran's silver in the cutlery drawer, and did three loads of wash, I finally settled on a movie. I had fallen asleep on the couch when the phone rang.

"Hey Lover."

"Hey. How's the boat."

"Boaty. I'm just calling to say a quick goodnight. Send me a text if you want later."

"What kind of text?" I raised my eyebrow.

"You know what kind of text."

"I guess we can't exactly share a phone call eh?"

"Well as much as I'm sure Anders and Gunnar would love to hear from you, I think we should stick to the texting."

"Ah yes, the sleeping in a berth on a pitching sea thing. Sounds fun."

"I'd invite you next time, but the only woman on board is named Helga and she beat me at arm wrestling earlier."

"I think I'm good. I'll write you in a bit, but won't everyone hear you?"

"Excellent. I'll be quiet if you promise you won't be."

"Deal. Nite Love."

"Bye."

I hung up, and tried to think of how texting could be sexy. A few minute later, I sent him a message.

'You start. You're better at this.'

A few minutes later. 'Fine. Tell me what you're wearing.'

'T-shirt. Your shorts.' I looked down at the shorts, picturing him in them. Yum.

'You make this too easy. Nothing else?'

'Nope.'

'If I was there, you'd be wearing much less. Are you cold?' I was wrapped up in Gran's quilt.

'How'd you know?'

'Because I'm not there to warm you up.' In truth, I was already a little warmed up in anticipation.

A few seconds later. 'Shit Lover, the net is ready to come in. I have to go.'

I sighed. 'Ok, I think I can wait to see you. This sexting isnt as fun as the phone.'

A few hours later, I woke to my phone buzzing. 'Agreed. I'll call tomorrow. Love'

The next morning I work up and thought I was going to die. I rushed to the bathroom and buried my head in the bowl for about two hours. I had ordered pizza after Eric left, so I thought it may have been that. Dairy hadn't been agreeing with me lately.

By the afternoon, I was feeling much better, and I met with Elsie for lunch, and then went to look at a couple of wedding venues. I was doing my best to be as enthusiastic as she was, but I was pretty tired.

"What if we did it in your backyard Elsie? You have a beautiful yard."

A wide smile came over her face. "Really, you'd do that?"

I'd do whatever it took to get me home and in bed for a nap. "Sure, I think it would be lovely. By the end of April the weather will be nice right?"

"Yes, its lovely with all the flowers." She wrapped her arms around me. "Sookie, you've made me so happy. Do you think Eric will be ok with it?"

Eric would be ok with us signing some paperwork in the courthouse. I would have been too. "Yea, I think he'll like the idea a lot."

"Perfect then. I'll start looking into caterers. I'll send you a list in a couple of days and you and Eric can look at menus. Do you want to go shopping for a bit?"

No, no I didn't, but I wasn't willing to endure the wrath of my mother-in-law. "Sure, maybe for a little bit. I have some homework for my language course."

Three hours later, Elsie finally dropped me off at home, and I collapsed on the couch. I was woken a few hours later by my phone ringing.

"Hey Lover."

"Hey. So we're getting married at your parent's house. I'm assuming you're down?"

"I'd marry you in a cardboard box."

"Great. Your mom is very excited."

"How was your day?"

"I'm just a little tired. Shopping and lunch wore me out."

"I can't really talk." He sighed. "The sea is a bit rough, and we lost a very expensive net earlier full of fish."

"Be careful eh?"

"Yea, of course Lover. I'll call you tomorrow."

I hauled myself up to bed and slept for a good twelve hours.

The next day began quite the same as the day before. With my head in the toilet. By then, I was starting to suspect that it may have been a bit more than the salad and soup I had for dinner. I decided to put off any thoughts of anything besides a twenty-four hour bug until the next day. I spent the day studying Norwegian and reading a cheesy romance novel I had packed from Bon Temps. Gran had it all dog eared, so I figured it must have been a good one. I talked to Eric for a few minutes, but the sea was still rough, so he had to go. I really didn't like him playing fisherman, since it wasn't his full-time occupation, but he seemed quite confident in his abilities and his mother wasn't concerned, so I put any bad thoughts to the back of my mind.

Third morning was the charm. I was sick for hours. I went to the pharmacy that afternoon and bought everything that looked like a home pregnancy test and brought it home. I spent most of the afternoon on google trying to figure out what a positive and a negative sign on a Norwegian pregnancy test looked like. I already knew though, and I knew exactly when I fucked up my birth control. It was the night that we told Eric's parents that we got married. We hadn't slept upstairs, and I always took my pill when I brushed my teeth. I'd missed that night, and the subsequent night when I was dealing with my hangover, and taken two the next morning. Stupid stupid. This was why I didn't drink like that.

By about four in the afternoon, I'd worked up enough courage to take the test. Three different tests later, with the same results, I had to face the truth. I was most certainly pregnant. I thought of calling Eric, but it seemed more like something you tell someone in person, not when they are on a fishing boat somewhere in the North Atlantic. What if something happened to him? What was I going to do? We weren't even married here, I wouldn't be able to stay. I'd have to go back to the states. I sat on the couch and had a bit of a cry. After a half hour or so, when my face was sufficiently puffy and my eyes red I heard a little knock on the door. I pulled myself off the couch and went to face whoever was at the door. I knew it wasn't Eric's parents, because they usually came in through the garage. I peeked through the peephole and was surprised to see Pam and Jake there. I wiped my eyes and opened the door, to a pair of eyes that were just as red as mine.

"Pam, what's wrong?"

She looked at my weak attempt to cover up my tears. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Come in." I wiped my eyes again and she walked in and thumped herself down on the couch.

"I know Eric's gone for a couple more days. I didn't really know where else to go."

"What happened?"

"My Dad had a stroke. He's in a coma in the hospital. They think it did some serious damage. I've been there for the past two days."

"Pam, you could have dropped Jake off."

"I needed him. But he's not great at communication yet, and now neither is my Dad." She wiped a tear from her eye. "Why are you upset? Is Eric ok? I know he's on one of those stupid fishing trips. I always hated those."

"He's fine, as far as I know anyway. He called last night." I realized that Pam was probably not the first person I should tell, but she was the only one who was here. "I don't know if I should tell you. I should be telling Eric."

"Well he's not here is he." I suddenly understood Pam's reluctance to fill him in on her sexuality for so long a whole lot better. "Its hard when you want to tell him things and he's not around to hear them. No one knows that better than me. If you want to tell me, I'd be happy to listen."

I wanted to tell someone. I'd spent one devastating day alone. "I messed up my pills, the night we told everyone we got married, and I just learned how to read a Norwegian pregnancy test, I took three of them, and I've been sick for the past three mornings, and I'm pregnant. And he's not even here to tell."

Pam's eyes went wide. "Oh." She squeezed Jake a little closer. "You'll be fine. It all works out, somehow."

"Is your Mom at the hospital?"

"No, she didn't even show up." She was tearing up. "Thirty years, they were together, and she didn't even call. I called her and left a message, when it first happened and she didn't even make a courtesy call."

"Oh, Pam." I wrapped my arms around her and Jake.

"I know, its a bit weird for me to be here, but I don't have anyone else."

"Pam, its not weird. We share a child, sort of. Well, yes, we do share a child. I'm happy you're here."

We sat there for a while, just comforted by not being alone. After a few hours, Pam rose. "I guess I should call the hospital, maybe there's been a change. And then I should get home."

I held Jake while she called. "No change. He's still out." She started to cry all over again.

"Pam, do you want to stay here?"

"I'll be ok." She got up to leave, bundled Jake up, and headed out the door. "Call me if you need me."

"You too."

I laid back on the couch and waited for Eric to call for a bit, before falling asleep. About an hour later, I heard another little knock on the door. Pam again.

"I think I would like to stay. His room is at my house." Ah, from when he stayed with her. "His stuff is there. I just sat in his room and cried for an hour. I need to sleep if I'm going to take care of Jake."

"You're welcome to stay. I'm going to go lie down a bit." I headed upstairs, and Pam followed.

"I like what Eric did with the room. He always hated it when I lived here. It was the only room that was really me."

"Yea its very Eric." I crawled into bed, while Pam put Jake in the bassinet at the end of the bed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"He's not going to be mad, if that's what your worried about."

"I don't know what I'm worried about. I just wish here was here." I started to cry again. "I'm turning into an emotional mess. I don't even know if its the pregnancy or what."

Pam curled up beside me, and began rubbing my back, in a very maternal way. "Its ok. Just go to sleep."

"You're so maternal."

"I know, when did that happen?" She laughed, a sad little laugh, and then a sigh. "You'll understand soon enough I guess. Its really great Sookie, being a mom." I smiled and fell asleep, feeling better than I had in days.

I awoke a few hours later, with Pam's arm draped over my side. I knew she hadn't slept and I didn't the heart to move her. I fell back asleep, happy not to be alone.

A few hours again, I woke, when I felt someone else in the room. I opened one eye, to see Eric standing over me.


	29. Chapter 29

**Oops, almost forgot the A/N! Thanks for the shitload of reviews for the last chapter. Maybe I need to start throwing cliffies in more often. Keep the feedback coming, I still have a bit of story left in me!**

***

Eric

Earlier that morning, after three days of gail force winds on the north Atlantic, things finally calmed down a bit. We went to haul in a net, when something high above, that was holding everything together snapped, and came crashing down onto the deck, knocking me over and, as I found out at the hospital later that day, breaking my arm in two places. I wish that had been the worst part of my day. The larger piece of machinery, that narrowly avoided me, hit Anders, who I'd known since my first fishing trip, when I was 18. He had made his way from deckhand to captain over the years, and was someone I liked a great deal, and had a great amount of respect for. Anders was flung into the sea, and despite our best attempts, did not survive. We managed to get him out of the sea, but it was too late. A combination of his head injury and the cold hadn't given him much of a chance. We headed for shore immediately, after that, and 8 hours later, I finally got my arm set. I didn't remember much about the trip back.

I'd spent a few hours in emergency care, not really caring much about my arm, but thinking of how lucky I was not to have been standing two feet over. I'd stood two feet over a million times. I couldn't call Sookie, or Mom. Dad already knew about Anders, he'd been notified, but I'd asked them to leave my arm out of the report. I didn't want to overshadow his death in any way. I was devastated. Two feet had been my key to survival and meant his premature end. He had a lovely wife, two daughters, I'd met them all.

An ambulance waited for me, at the dock, and when my arm was fixed up, I got a cab home. I just wanted to be with her, I didn't want to tell her what I'd seen, I just wanted to lay down beside my wife and have her know what I needed, which was just to be with her.

I opened the front door, and took off my bloody top. Anders' blood covered most of it. He'd been in bad shape when we hauled him out. I couldn't even think about it, without wanting to be ill. When I walked in the bedroom door, and saw Sookie, Pam, and Jake there, my first thought was that I was going to kill Pam, and that I really needed to stop coming home early from things, because it really wasn't working out very well for me. I randomly thought back to a mythology course I'd taken in university, and the Hercules myth, when he'd been driven mad and killed his wife and children, only to terribly regret it later. I wasn't at that point, but the rage I felt was unlike anything I could ever remember feeling.

I took a deep breath and looked again. Sookie was under the covers, and Pam was on top, fully clothed, with one arm around her waist. Maybe they just had some sort of sleepover. Was Jake ok? I checked him and he was fine, sleeping away. I could wait and hear what happened before jumping to any radical conclusions. Its not like Pam was going down on her or anything, which probably would have led me to snap. I guess being two feet from dying earlier in the day really put things into perspective. Last week, I think I would have been a lot more angry.

"Eric, are you really here?" Sookie looked at me with one eye.

"I am. What's she doing here?" I tried to keep my voice calm and not let on that I was the slightest bit concerned that anything went on, even though my heart ached at the idea of what I'd encountered almost a year ago to the day repeating itself, with Sookie, who I cared for even more than Pam, which I hadn't thought possible a year ago. I'm sure I didn't sound like everything was fine.

"Her Dad had a stroke. She was really upset and she didn't have anyone else." I let out a huge sigh. Good answer. "What happened to your arm?"

"Its broken. I'll explain tomorrow." I stripped down to my boxers and crawled in beside her. "Pam, why don't you go sleep in the guest room. I know most men would love to be in this position right now, but not this one. We'll talk in the morning."

She mumbled and pulled herself up. "Night."

"Night."

"Are you ok?" Sookie looked at me with concern.

"I don't want to talk about it. Is that ok?" She searched my face and sighed.

"Yea, of course." I moved over to take Pam's place in the bed. "Eric?"

"Yea?"

"I love you."

I smiled, as hard as it was to do. "I love you too. See you in the morning."

I awoke the next morning to the sound of Sookie throwing up in the toilet. I pulled myself out of bed, and went to sit beside her on the floor. "Are you ok?"

"Yea, fine, just give me a few minutes." I sat beside her and rubbed her back. "Were you mad that Pam was here?"

"For about a half a second, which almost led to a murderous rage. Then I saw that she was fully clothed and I was fine."

"Pam's not my type." She weakly smiled. "I'm more into Vikings. One in particular."

"Good answer. Did you two get into the wine last night?"

I could see her thinking about her answer. "No. I don't know how to tell you this. Perhaps you could go to the garbage over there and pull out one of the boxes."

Strange request, but fine. "There are several pregnancy tests in here."

"Check one, any one."

I pulled out the first one I came to. "Oh. I'm guessing a check means, what I think it means?"

"Yes. I was going to call, but it didn't seem like something you tell someone on the phone."

I understood that well. Just like you don't tell someone that the blood all over your shirt is from someone who died standing two feet away from you on the phone. "Oh. But I was with you, when you got birth control a couple of months ago."

"It only works if you remember to take it, which I didn't the night we told your parents we got married, or the following night when I was so hungover I thought I was going to die."

"The day I planted those trees."

"I hadn't thought of that, but yes. Eric, I'm so sorry. I never forget to take them. I know this wasn't part of the plan."

"Please don't be sorry." I searched her face and gave her my best smile, well the best one I could muster. "Our plan seems to be changing all the time." And it did. It would be impossible for me to be anything but happy at the thought of Sookie carrying my child. Even thought I loved Jake with all my heart, the situation hadn't been ideal. This one really was.

She was sick for about 20 more minutes when Pam walked in with Jake. "Feeling ok?"

Sookie looked up from the bowl. "I already told Pam. She was here." And I wasn't.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here. You must have been very upset. Pam, please don't let me find you in my bed again."

"I wasn't expecting you to come back or I would have thought about that." She shrugged. "I didn't even cop a feel, although with those breasts, it was hard. You should be proud." I glared at her.

Sookie joined me in my glare. "I'm glad you're here now." She smiled up at me weakly. I needed to tell her about yesterday, but I wanted Pam gone. I'd be nice to her later, but I didn't have it in me right now.

"Sorry, I know this isn't the best timing, but would it be a terribly inconvenient if I left Jake here while I went to the hospital? I just want to go sit with him."

"That's fine Pam. We'll be here." She smiled at me, and wrapped her arms around Sookie.

"Take care of her."

"I will."

I listened as Pam headed down the stairs and out the door. "Thank you for being here for her. A lot of people wouldn't be so kind."

"She's family, in an odd way."

"I suppose she is." I rubbed her back, and then got up to check on Jake, who was happily gurgling away in his bassinet. "Do you want anything?"

"Maybe some water?"

I went downstairs and got her a glass, throwing my coat out in the garage. I didn't even want think about that right now. My mind was completely conflicted. A part of me was very excited, even though the timing was a bit off, but I was still devastated by the events of yesterday. I knew I had to tell her, because Mom would be over here very shortly. She didn't need to call, but I knew she'd be over, because she knew I'd been there. I just hoped she had the sense to let me deal with it a bit on my own before she got all motherly on me. I got the glass of water and went back upstairs. Sookie was sitting on the bed.

"So are you going to tell me what happened with your arm?"

I sighed. "Yea, I guess I should, before you hear about it from someone else." I was sure Anders' death was probably all over the news. Things like that didn't happen very often, but when they did, everyone knew. "Yesterday morning, there was a bit of an accident on the boat. Something that held the big net in place snapped and hit my arm." I felt my voice waver a bit. "And Anders, who's been fishing since I started, was hit by a bigger piece of the net, and was knocked into the sea. We managed to retrieve him, but he didn't make it." I let out another sigh.

"Oh." She wrapped her arms around my waist. "I would have been a bit more discreet with my vomiting if I had of known. I could have waited a couple of days before putting that on you."

I had to tell her. "He was standing two feet away from me. Two feet."

"Oh Eric." She squeezed a little tighter. "All I kept thinking yesterday was what would happen if you didn't come back and I didn't get to tell you." She squeaked a bit at the end. I felt sick again, thinking of Anders' family.

"I'm back, and I'm fine, save for my arm. And you did get to tell me, and I'm happy. I know its not the time frame we talked about, but we'll figure it out." I kissed the top of her head, and I could hear her breathe out a sign of relief.

I sat with her until she was confident that the vomiting was over. "Eric, I think you should have a shower. I'll feed Jake."

"Do I smell that awful?" I didn't think I did.

"Its not that. You just have a little..." She pointed to my arm. The blood had soaked through my shirt and was dried on my arm. I hadn't noticed last night. "I'll wash the bedding, and your coat if you want."

"I'm throwing the coat out."

"Ok." She gave me a little squeeze and went downstairs.

I had my shower and scrubbed and scrubbed to get the blood off me, and even when it was gone, it still felt like it was there. I got out, towelled off and made my way downstairs.

"Your Dad called. He asked if you wanted him to keep your Mom away for the day, and I said it wasn't a bad idea."

"Thank you."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't really think I'm ready yet. I'm going to need to go see his family, and I'll need to go to the funeral."

"I'll go with you."

I didn't know if that was a good idea. I was sure his wife would be devastated and seeing me with my lovely wife when she'd just lost her husband would probably be a bit of a slap in the face. "I would like you to come to the funeral, but I need to go see her alone."

"Ok."

"Can we talk about the baby? I need something a bit lighter to think about."

"You know things are bad when an unplanned pregnancy is lighter stuff." She smiled.

"Hey, we planned for you to get pregnant, maybe we weren't clear enough in our timeline. I did plant those trees."

"So maybe this is your fault. I've missed pills lots of times, and this is the first time this has ever happened." She smirked at me.

I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Maybe you should count yourself lucky, that it is the first time. You could have had Alcide's or, even worse, Bill's child."

"Doubtful."

"Oh?"

"Yea, let's just say that I let you take certain liberties that I never let them take."

"I think that's going to need some explaining."

"Well I never slept with Alcide without a condom, which was very smart in hindsight, and as soon as I agreed to give up condoms with Bill, I made him pull out. You are the only one I haven't doubled up my contraceptive with."

"Oh." Pulling out sucked, and our adventures with condoms hadn't gone so well.

"I thought of asking you to pull out the first time we had sex without a condom, but it just felt so damn good. You and your damn sexabilities."

"So I'm the only one who..."

"That's what I said."

"Nice." I had a stupid grin on my face, I'm sure. She handed me Jake and a bottle. I held him easily in my good arm.

"Will it be nice when you're balancing a one year old and an infant on either hip?"

"Jake's a good baby. I'm sure ours will be too." I smiled at him, as he happily drank away. "Besides, now we have 7 months of sex without any worries."

"That's one way to look at it. And, honestly, I've been horny as hell for the past month, so if that's any indication, then you have a lot to look forward to."

"And I missed a week and a half of that?"

"You did."

"Well we'll have some making up to do then." I smiled as Jake finished his bottle and started to go into his full belly sleep. "Care to join me upstairs?" I was never having sex on that damn couch again. Maybe I could sell it as some sort of fertility treatment to barren couples.

"Uh, yea."


	30. Chapter 30

**Here's the next chapter, I'll warn you now, its a bit of a filler chapter. I thought they needed a day to process. Hope you like, and keep the feedback coming! **

"You aren't going to go fishing anymore are you?" Sookie cuddled into my arm, looking flushed and very sated. She was right, if pregnancy turned her into such a minx, I was going to be a very lucky man. My arm was aching. The medication from the hospital last night was starting to wear off. I'd have to take some more in a bit.

"I don't think I'll go again. I know not to try my luck." I pushed her onto her back and put my hands on her stomach. "There's a baby in here."

"I know. Especially in the morning. Are we going to tell your parents right away?"

"I don't want to. I just want to keep you two to myself for a bit." Every minute I spent with the two of them, I got a little bit more excited about what was coming. "Lets wait until after the wedding."

She giggled. "Maybe your Mom will just think I'm getting fat. Luckily the dress I picked out is corset style, so there's a bit of room. I would have been fucked if I'd picked something with a zipper in the back. My breasts are going to be huge by the end of April, if their recent growth has been any indication. I can't believe I didn't notice when my bras started getting tight."

"Oh I noticed, but I wasn't complaining" I winked at her. "I guess we should make a doctor's appointment huh? See when you're actually due, since its unlikely that three pregnancy tests would be wrong, combined with the vomiting and these." I moved my hands up her, cupping the underneath of her fantastic breasts.

She playfully smacked my hands away. "Yea, I wanted to wait for you for that. If my calculations are correct, then I'm about two months along. I just kind of figured that I missed my period because I messed up my pills. I still had cramps. And we were so busy with everything, and we went to Japan."

"Its been a busy six months. I'm surprised I didn't notice when you didn't cut me off for a week. Usually I do." Did I ever.

"You probably didn't notice because I didn't cut you off. I'm sure you weren't questioning it."

"I suppose. Lover?"

"Yea?"

"Pam didn't really cop a feel did she?"

"Not that I was aware of. Why?" She pulled herself onto my chest and propped herself up on her elbows. "Part of you likes the idea that she did, doesn't it?" She winked at me.

After I got over my blind rage and I knew that Pam hadn't converted my wife, I have to admit, the two of them lying there together was a pretty hot visual. "Maybe, but only because it didn't happen." This was certainly one of those fantasies that was hotter in my head, than in reality. In my reality with Pam, my fantasy had pretty quickly morphed into a nightmare. I wasn't good at sharing. I was an only child.

"I think that's fair. Pam's pretty and all, but I don't share well, and I get the idea that you don't either. Besides, that would be a quick way to complicate an already complicated relationship further."

"You are mine. That's for sure."

"I am. And you are mine."

"Yep. I am." And I was. Looking at her, so beautiful, propped up on my chest, her breasts pushed into me, she could have asked me anything and I wouldn't have been able to deny her.

"Good. You know, when we first got together, I was a little bit jealous of Pam."

"Really?"

"Yea, because at any minute she could have taken back her previous statement, and you were having a baby together."

"You really didn't have anything to worry about. There was a split second, when she first told me, that I thought it may have just been easier, but it wasn't going to happen."

"I knew that, after you came to see me the second time, in Tokyo, as soon as I saw you in the train station."

"You were so beautiful that day, after everything."

She smiled up at me, and then laid her ear on my chest. "I can feel your heart."

"Its yours."

"You're too sweet."

"I think you bring that out in me. If you asked Pam, she probably wouldn't say that."

"Pam told me you were the real deal. I believe her exact words were that you were fucking amazing."

"When did she tell you that?"

"When you left us to fight it out, in the summer."

"Huh. Interesting."

"Why?"

"Because I try much harder with you, than I ever did with her. If you ever tell her that, I'll deny it."

"What do you mean?"

"I left all the time, and I didn't care. I hardly ever called. I never bought her anything that she didn't tell me to get her. It hurts when I have to leave you, and I want to buy you everything, all the time. Everywhere I go, I see things that I think you'd like, even though you don't like me buying you things all the time. I think of a million things every day that I want to tell you. You're lucky I don't spend all day on the phone with you."

She smiled. "On some level, you knew about Pam, didn't you."

"I probably did. I knew she wasn't the one. I realize that now. Its pretty easy to be in denial and just go day to day. I found a bra once, that probably would have fit you, and there was no way that was Pam's." Clearly Pam was as into breasts as I was.

"I think I knew Bill would do it again. I didn't, however, know he'd end up being such a psycho, which would have been the really good thing to know."

"That would have been a good thing to know. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I wouldn't change a thing." I think that's where the majority of my guilt over yesterday was. It was really hard to feel like that, when it involved such a terrible twist of fate. She looked at me sympathetically, and kissed my mouth. I'd worked pretty hard to shut that out of my mind, at least for a while. I knew it wasn't going to last long.

"Me neither. I know that's probably a selfish thing to say, considering what happened yesterday, but I wouldn't." She wrapped her arms around me.

"I know. That's kind of what I'm dealing with."

"Well when you want to talk about it, I'll listen."

"I know."

"I wonder if we're having a boy or a girl?" I loved her even more, if that was possible, for changing the subject.

I smiled. "I bet its a girl."

"Why?"

"I dunno, just a feeling." I pushed her onto her back again and put my head on her stomach. "I'm going to have to teach he or she Norwegian. That's a little scary."

"Maybe I'll have mastered it by then."

"That would be funny, if I got to be the English parent. Hello in there." I moved to kiss her stomach.

"You are going to be in trouble, if it is a girl. She's going to wrap you around her little finger."

I sighed. "You are right about that. Can we agree that she's not to date until she's 18?"

"No. Only if the same rules apply to Jake."

"Jake will be a little player. He's already got you and Pam bowing to his every whim. Lover, I need to grab some medication." I pulled myself away from her, and grabbed my medication and a glass of water from the bathroom.

"I almost forgot about your arm. I guess after your face, an arm is easier to forget about."

"I won't be able to forget about it for long. I had a shitload of morphine at the hospital, and its very quickly wearing off." I laid back down, returning to my previous position on her stomach. "I wish I could just stay in bed with you all week. I'm really feeling like I'm unable to deal with the outside world."

"Have you ever had anyone that you knew die before?"

"Sure, but not anyone I knew like Anders, and not two feet away from me."

"Of course not. If you need some time, you should take it. I'm sure everyone will understand."

"I need to go see Hilda. I won't feel right until I do."

"Why don't you take your Dad with you. He knew Anders too right?"

"Yea, that's a good idea. How did he sound when he called?"

"Sad."

"Yea, I figured he would. I'm grateful that he offered to keep Mom for the day." I heard a knock at the door. "That would be Pam."

"I'll go let her in. Pass me your t-shirt. Oh right, broken arm." She smiled and walked around the bed and grabbed it, and my sweatpants. "Cover up, in case Pam comes up. I know she's seen you, but you're mine." She winked.

"I love you in my clothes."

As predicted, Pam appeared at the door a minute later. Sookie tucked herself back into bed. "Pam, how's your dad?"

"The same. He just lays there. Now I know why everyone was so stressed when I was out after I had Jake. How are you? I grabbed the paper at the hospital."

"Surviving. What did the paper say?"

"Tragic accident."

"Yea."

"Are you going to go see Hilda? I sent flowers." I forgot Pam knew her as well. We usually did a company Christmas party, but I'd skipped this years because of Jake.

"Yea, soon. Not today."

"No. Come on Jake, lets give Mom and Dad a bit of time." She scooped him up. "Thanks for watching him. I don't think he likes the hospital, after spending so much time there. He hasn't been sleeping very well. He's been restless."

"Drop him off whenever you go, if you want. He slept all afternoon. We'll be around." I waved with my good arm. The sun was starting to go down.

I smiled as Sookie examined my arm. "I've never had a cast. Are you hungry? You haven't eaten a thing today. I ate when you were in the shower."

"I should be taking care of you, not the other way around."

"You do take care of me. We can order in, and I'll even let you pay."

"Chinese food?"

"Sure. Let me grab the phone book." She came back a minute later, and we ordered enough food to feed a small army.

"Let's go eat downstairs. I'm going to draw the line at eating in bed. Its messy, and you already put one set of sheets in the wash earlier."

"Thank you. Sheets are hard to fold."

"I'll help, but it will have to be one armed." I pulled on some pants, and we settled in on the couch. "I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Jake was also conceived on this couch."

She started laughing. "All the sex we've had in that bed, and the couch does it. Figures. Maybe when we're ready to have the next one, we'll have to keep that in mind, and take it to the loveseat until then. Besides, this baby could have actually been conceived on the floor over there, or up against that wall."

"That was a good night."

"You're damn right it was."

I groaned as my cellphone rang. "Its one of my parents. I kind of want to talk to Dad, but really don't want to talk to Mom. How do I do that?"

"I can screen for you."

"Would you?"

"That's what I'm here for." She answered. "Hi." "Sure Peter." "It's your Dad." She handed the phone over.

"Hey."

"Hey. Are you holding up ok?"

"Yea, Sookie's taking care of me. We need to go see Hilda."

"I sent flowers earlier. For us and for you. We'll go see her when you're ready. Can your Mom bring you breakfast tomorrow?"

"Yea, but tell her to keep the crazy to a minimum."

"You know I can't do that."

"I know. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Yea, I'll come with her."

"I broke my arm."

"I know. Gunnar called me. You are very lucky."

"You're telling me. Two feet."

"Yea, he said. You're off the boats." I knew he was going to say that. I'm sure he spent all day enduring the wrath of Elsie Northman. She'd never been a fan of our north Atlantic adventures.

"I know."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye." I hung up. "They know about the arm."

"Good, one less surprise. I think our food is here."

She came back a minute later, a giant greasy paper bag in hand. "That looks disgustingly delicious."

"I know." We ripped open the bag and unpacked our dinner. "Oh, there's fortune cookies!"

"Of course there are. We have to save them for the end though."

"Fine." She pouted for a moment, and then we plowed through the food. I hadn't realized that I was so hungry. After twenty minutes, I laughed.

"It looks like I have a food baby." I puffed my stomach up.

"Looks to be around three months there. I've been looking at pictures on the internet. Good work." She put her face on my stomach, mimicking my actions from earlier. "Now can we crack those cookies?"

"Sure, but I'm going first." I cracked it open. "Love is for the lucky and the brave. That's pretty fitting, well the lucky part."

"I think you're brave. Mine says, You are talented in many ways."

"Lover, that's pretty accurate." I winked. "I love all your many talents."

"We used to add 'in bed' to our fortunes in high school, before we were doing anything in bed and laugh for hours."

"I think they both work with that." She was so wonderful. I knew she was small talking to keep my mind off of things, and for a few minutes at a time, it actually worked, which was a nice break. I felt like every time I closed my eyes, I saw him, being swept over the side, as I laid on the deck, holding my arm.

I took a deep breath. "I feel like every time I close my eyes, I see him being swept over the side."

"Oh Eric." I parted my legs and she moved and sat between them wrapping her legs around my waist. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." I rested my head on hers. "I just don't know how to reconcile being here, when I know its because he isn't. If we'd switched positions, it would have been me."

"Survivor's guilt is an impossible thing to get over, but you will. You owe it to him, to enjoy the time you've been given. Now you don't have to do it right now, but you will. How old are his kids?"

"I think they're eight and ten. Two girls." I could picture them perfectly, blond and happy,from the photo he always kept in his berth.

She looked thoughtful. "I'm sure a time will come when you can think of something to do for them to honour his memory."

"That's a good idea." Maybe the answer to that would become clearer when I went to see them. "Its going to be hard, but I need to stop thinking about hard it is for me. I got to come home. You are right, I need to think of that."

"I wish I didn't have to be right about any of it. What time is it?"

"I think its about five."

"I'm going to make a doctor's appointment. Be right back." She hopped up, and I could hear her on the phone in my office. "Thursday at two. I'll reschedule if I have to, depending on when the funeral is."

"Dad will know tomorrow I'm sure."

I'd give myself today, or what remained of it, to throw my own personal pity party, and then it was on with it. I had obligations, and people who needed me. One in particular that was curled up, asleep on my chest.


	31. Chapter 31

**Here's the next bit! I was on a bit of a role last night...Hope you like it, and keep the feedback coming, I'm almost at 600 reviews, which is pretty awesome!**

Eric

I groaned as I heard the tap tap tap on the door, that could only signal my mother's arrival. I rolled over to look for Sookie, but she was up to her normal morning activity, as of late. I pulled my pants on, and padded over to the bathroom.

"Mom's here. I'll close the door and tell her you're in the shower."

"Ok." She pulled her head up from the bowl and smiled weakly. I rubbed her back for a minute.

"I'll be back in a few, to make sure you're ok." I pulled on a sweater, carefully over my arm, and headed downstairs.

"Eric." She wrapped her arms around me for dear life.

"Mom, the arm, watch the arm." I winced as she squeezed it.

"Sorry, I'm just so glad you're ok. I brought bagels, cream cheese, and salmon." She came in and looked around. "Where's Sookie?"

"She's in the shower. She'll be down in a few. Where's Dad?"

"He just went to pick up some coffee. She didn't have to shower for us."

I just shrugged. "She'll be down in a bit."

"Are you ok? Your father spent most of yesterday in a trance. Anders was a good man."

"He was." I wondered if Dad had told her how close I'd been to him, when he'd died. I didn't think so, or she would have been far more freaked out, and certainly over here yesterday. "We need to go see his family."

"Yea, he may want to go this afternoon. He mentioned something about that. How did you break your arm? He just mumbled when I asked him."

Damn, he hadn't. "Some of what fell on Anders fell on me."

"Oh my God. Eric, he didn't tell me that. I would have come yesterday." Her eyes teared up.

"I needed a day. Sookie and I just had a quiet day. Pam's dad had a stroke, so we watched Jake for most of the afternoon."

"Oh, I didn't know about her dad. We'll have to go visit. Is he ok?"

I wasn't really sure. I owed Pam a visit. "I think he's in a coma."

"My God. That poor girl."

"She stayed with Sookie a night when I was gone. I think she's ok. She knows she can come by if she needs anything."

Mom raised her eyebrow, like I knew she would. "Oh."

"Don't be like that."

"Sorry, I just couldn't stand for you to get hurt again like that." She wrapped her arms around me, this time avoiding my arm.

"I'll be fine. I am fine." I loved Mom, but she drove me batty. I was glad she was pretty busy with her own life, so she didn't have that much time to hover in mine. I heard Dad at the door. "I'll go help him with the coffee. Can you put the kettle on for Sookie's tea?"

"Sure."

I went out to let Dad in, and he set the coffee down and embraced me, being careful of my arm. "My boy."

"Hi Dad." We stood there, for a minute just looking at each other.

"I didn't tell her about the two feet." He whispered at me.

"Me neither." I shook my head. "Do you want to go see Hilda and the girls this afternoon?"

"Yea, I think we should. We can pick up some dinner for them. That's what people do, isn't it?"

"I think so."

"Are you ok? It must have been pretty bad."

"It was awful. Yesterday I threw myself a pity party, but I'm moving forward today, the best I can."

"Good. Believe it or not, that will make you feel better."

"I hope so." We walked into the kitchen and sat down. Mom had breakfast all spread out on the table, and we set the coffee down. I heard the kettle boil, so I got up and made Sookie's tea, careful to choose decaf, without Mom noticing. She'd question the caffeine. "Now where is that future daughter-in-law of mine." Mom grabbed a bagel and spread some cream cheese onto it.

"She spent most of yesterday with a very despondent me. She deserves a few extra minutes of silence." I cut her off.

"She's good to you. "

"She is." Speak of the devil, Sookie emerged from the hallway, hair wet, in yoga pants and a big hoodie. I couldn't help but wonder if she was wearing a bra. Maybe if I could get them out of here, I could find out for myself. Good, she'd really planned it out, with the shower. We'd totally be able to keep it secret for a month.

"Morning."

"We made your tea." Mom got up and handed her a mug. She looked at me, and I nodded, so she took a sip and smiled. Peppermint. "Thanks. This all looks really good." She took a seat, and dug in.

After Mom reminded me about eight million times, how lucky I was to be alive, Dad finally hauled her out the door, with a promise to return in a couple of hours to go see Hilda. She yelled on her way out the door. "Sookie, we need to finalize the cake and try on your dress after the alterations. I'll pick you up tomorrow."

"Ok Elsie, see you tomorrow." When the door closed, Sookie ran for the downstairs bathroom. I followed after her, holding her hair back with my good hand, as she wretched painfully into the bowl.

"Salmon not agreeing with you?"

"No."

"You covered that up pretty well."

"I was a bit worried with the tea. You made it eh?"

"Yep."

"Its going to be a long month."

"Yes, it is. I'll do my best to keep her out of your hair." I rubbed her back, as she sat on the cool tile floor. "Dad and I are going to go see Anders' family in a little bit. Do you want anything while I'm out? Pickles and ice cream or anything of the sort?"

"No, but please take all the salmon that's left over and get rid of it. The thought of it is making me..."

And with that, her head was back in the toilet.

Sookie

I was tired all the time. No matter how hard I tried to stay awake and be productive, I'd fall asleep on a moments notice. Several times this week, I'd awoken on the couch, not even remembering when I fell asleep. Eric almost always covered me up with Gran's quilt and let me sleep. My days had progressed into morning vomiting, breakfast, nap, some very short activity, some wedding related, nap, hopefully some sex, which seemed to be the only thing I had any energy left for, dinner, nap, bed. Sometimes I fell asleep during a movie.

I rolled over, after a mid morning nap to see Eric sitting at my feet at the couch. "I promise I'll carry you upstairs once my arm is healed."

"Good thing your couch is not only ultra fertile, but is also ultra comfy."

"I need to go pick up my suit from the dry cleaner for the funeral tomorrow, do you want to come with me?"

It was already tomorrow? The last four days had disappeared before my very eyes. I'd been to the doctor two days ago, and he had confirmed, that yes, I was indeed pregnant, and yes, I was about two months along. I guess there are consequences for sex as good as that night, although I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Eric had beamed and held my hand the whole day, before and after we found out. I'd pretty much gotten over my original reservations about timing, and was pretty excited. "Yea, can we stop somewhere and find me something to wear too? I feel like my usual funeral dress is going to look slutty with my new boobs." They really had grown overnight.

"Sure. I have a couple of other stops to make too. Can you stay awake for a few hours?" He winked at me.

"Lets hope so. I read in the baby book that Pam dropped off that this only goes on for a month or so, and then I should have some more energy."

"You have energy. You've been ravaging the hell out of me." He helped me up to my feet.

"Maybe I should stop and save my energy so I can stay awake through the day." I raised my eyebrow.

"That's not a good compromise. I'm loving the ravaging." I went upstairs and showered, while Eric did a bit of work. He'd worked quite hard to get all the insurance paperwork through, so Anders' family would get his insurance policy as soon as possible.

We'd worked out a more sporadic schedule with Jake with everything going on, so we had him after the funeral. Pam had opted not to go, since she only really knew them through Eric, and she didn't want to risk being the one with a crying baby through the service.

I came downstairs, grateful that my jeans still fit. Maybe we'd end up somewhere that I could get a new bra or two. "Ready to go?"

"Yep, let me warm up the car first." He came in from the garage a minute later. "Its actually feeling a bit warmer out."

"Well it is the end of March. One more month until our second wedding. And three more weeks until Lafayette does Oslo."

"That will be interesting for sure. Are they all booked?"

"Yep, I got an email from Sam yesterday. Jason's coming, but he's leaving the baby momma at home, because she's too pregnant to fly. Shame."

"Is anyone staying here?"

"I haven't discussed it yet. What do you think?"

"I think its up to you. There's the daybed in Jake's room and the queen sized bed in the spare room, if you want them here."

"I'll think about it. It might just be too much crazy. It might be nice to be able to come home and vomit in peace, although hopefully that's over by then too."

"Let's find them a hotel then."

"Sounds good." I I knew I'd really just want to come home to some quiet. I'd become a bit of a homebody. Eric called it nesting, I called it the most comfortable place to sleep, although the car was a close second.

"Ok, car should be good, lets go, so you can come back and sleep, so I can enjoy you later."

I pulled on my coat and boots. "You certainly have your priorities in order."

"I try. So first stop, my suit, next stop, downtown to find you a dress. The next two stops are a surprise, but I think you'll be glad you came along."

"A surprise for me? I don't know if I can take any more surprises."

"Nope, not for you, but I think you'll enjoy it." That sounded interesting.

We picked up Eric's black suit, one that he didn't wear very often. "I don't think I've ever seen you in that."

"Yea, I don't wear it very often. I prefer the grey one, but I do like my new blue one, from our wedding. Dad and I are going to try on tuxes next week, at Mom's insistence, for the wedding redux."

"I bet you'll look hot in a tux."

"I've been told that a time or two. So where do we find you a dress?"

"You're so full of yourself. I don't know. Let's try H&M. I can get a couple of new bras there too."

"Sounds good."

We spent about twenty minutes, finding a dress that didn't look slutty. I eventually decided on a black cowlneck sweater dress that hid my breasts pretty well. I found some new tights, and a few bras, so it was a success. "So what's next on the schedule."

"I'll tell you when we get there." We drove for about twenty minutes outside of the city until we came to a farm.

"Can you tell me now?" I was pretty confused.

"Wait Lover." We pulled in and drove up to the house. Eric came and opened my car door. "We're going in."

I hopped up, and we walked up to the house. A very stocky woman, with a sensible haircut answered. Eric spoke Norwegian with her quite rapidly, and I picked out a few words, one being buy, and another being dog. I breathed a sigh of relief when I remembered he said it wasn't for me. Not that I didn't want a dog, but the timing wasn't great, with the baby, Jake, the wedding, all of it.

"Who are you buying a dog for?"

He smiled at me. "You're learning quickly. For Anders' family. I remembered he was telling me about getting a new dog. Their family dog died about 8 months ago. He always had elkhounds, from the time he was a boy."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I pictured us showing up with an unwanted puppy, and upsetting a woman whose husband had just died, and two kids, who would of course, want a puppy.

"Don't worry, I asked Hilda when Dad and I went to see them a few days ago. She argued a bit at first, because she didn't want me spending the money, but I insisted, and when I told her that he had mentioned it the night before, she said ok."

"All right. Let's go see these puppies. I don't even know what an elkhound is."

"Its a special Norwegian breed of dog. They are used for hunting sometimes, but they also make great family dogs. They are strong guard dogs too, so I thought it would be good, since they won't have a man around."

"That's very thoughtful." He grabbed my hand and we followed the woman through her very old farmhouse and to a back shed. The house reminded me a bit of Gran's house, because of the slanted floors and worn doorframes. It was probably from around the same era. She flipped the switch, and my heart melted at the sight of eight little black puppies, and one momma dog that looked more than ready to be done with them. "They're adorable. Which one are we taking."

"We need to pick one. Somehow, I got here before anyone else, which is surprising, because they are quite hard to come by, especially the black ones."

"Boy or a girl?"

"I was thinking a boy, because its a house full of girls, but what do you think? Create a little more female camaraderie?"

"I think I like your boy idea." I listed, as Eric asked which ones were boys, and my eyes were drawn to one sitting apart from the others. "Is that one a boy? He looks independent."

He asked and the woman nodded. "She says it is." I watched, as she picked him up and handed him to Eric. He held him and he snuggled into his good arm.

"Not as hot as you with a baby, but a close second. Let's take that one." He spoke to her for a couple of minutes, and then handed over a check from his pocket.

"He's ours to give away. You are going to have to hold him while we drive." He handed me the puppy, and opened the car door. I hopped in, and within minutes of driving, he was fast asleep on my lap.

"He doesn't seem too upset about leaving his family."

"Maybe he knows he's going to a great new one."

"Do you think she's ok to meet me? I sensed some hesitation when I mentioned going with you before"

"I just didn't want to seem like I was rubbing our happiness in her face. I don't think she'd see it like that. She was asking about you. I've known her, through Anders, for almost ten years. She's a couple of years older, maybe 30, but very kind. I think you'll like her."

"I'm sure I will. Do you know about how long its going to take to get there?"

"Maybe a half hour?"

"Would you be offended if I napped? I don't want to fall asleep on a stranger's couch."

He smirked at me. "Go for it. Whatever keeps you awake later."

"Shush. Wake me up before we get there, so I'm not all blustery." I curled up in the seat, the puppy snoozing away.

"I'll wake you at the pet store. That's about ten minutes from their house."

"Mmmm."

I woke up when the car stopped, and Eric got out. "I'm just going to pick up the essentials. Food and all that. Be right back."

I stretched, and pet the puppy on my lap. He was so warm and sleepy. A few minutes later, he returned, with a giant back of dog food in one arm, and a plastic bag balanced on his cast. "I could have helped you carry that stuff."

"You were watching the puppy. That's a very important job." He threw the bag in the back of the SUV, and after a few minutes, we pulled into a modest two story house on a quiet street. It was well taken care of, with two newer cars in the driveway. Not unlike our house, I thought with a sigh. Eric, once again, came around the side of the car and opened the door for me. "Her English is pretty good, but the girls don't speak too much."

Eric and I walked to the door, puppy in hand and were greeted by someone who was not at all what I expected.


	32. Chapter 32

**Its a two chapter day! I hope you like this one. Keep the feedback coming!**

Hilda was a knockout. Like she should have been a supermodel. I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting, but she sure wasn't wearing a very low cut top, over very fake breasts, with the tightest pair of jeans imaginable, ending in a pair of fuck-me heels. And she was rocking them. Her long blond hair hung straight around her shoulders, and she had a very fashionable set of bangs. She also looked very surprised to see me. She must have known Eric was bring the puppy today, had she dressed like that for him? Something was very off about her reaction.

"Hilda, this is my wife Sookie. Sookie, this is Hilda."

She said something to him in Norwegian about it just being him, then quickly greeted me in English. "Sookie, its so nice to meet you. Please come in." She shouted, to her kids, I assumed, and two adorable blond girls joined us in the living room. Their eyes lit up when they saw the puppy in my arms.

"Girls, he's for you." I put him on the floor, and he ran over and plopped himself down at their feet. They shrieked with excitement, screamed thank you in Norwegian, and ran off, the puppy running behind them.

"Thank you Eric, this was very kind." She ushered us into her living room and we sat down on the couch, while she sat in the chair, closest to Eric. She didn't look like she was in mourning at all. She looked like she wanted to devour my husband.

"How are they doing?"

"Ya, they are ok. Anders was always out on the boat, so I don't think they really understand. He was a good father, when he was around." She turned to me. "So you are American? You must miss your country very much. I've been to New York, I used to model, before I got pregnant. Will you stay in Norway?"

Of course she used to model. I felt guilty, being so mean, since she'd just lost her husband, but the way she was looking at Eric was a bit off putting. Like if I wasn't here, she'd be trying to do much more than look. "Yep, I'm here for good. I'm actually very happy here. I haven't lived in the US for a couple of years now." Was she trying to get rid of me? What an odd question to ask. Maybe I was just being hormonal.

"Eric, how's your arm?" And then she reached out and touched his cast, and I felt my blood boil a bit. It wasn't so much that she touched it, as how she touched it. Like it was foreplay. And the look on her face. Pure sex. What kind of woman was she? She straightened her hair for crying out loud. Who straightens their hair the day before their husband's funeral, and flirtatiously rubs his boss's cast? With his pregnant wife sitting right here. Well not that she knew I was pregnant, but that was besides the point.

"Its fine." Was he seeing this? Had she been like this with Peter here earlier in the week? "We can't stay too long though, I need to stop by and see my son."

"Oh yes, I heard you and Pamela had a child. You're a busy boy Eric." She giggled.

"Yea, it was a bit of a surprise. He's wonderful though."

"And now you're getting married, so soon after that?"

"Yea, you know, when its right its right. We already got married in the States, so this is just a technical wedding." He winked at me and squeezed my hand. He had no idea what she was doing. Great. "Anyway, we must be going. We will see you tomorrow though. Please let me know if there's anything I can do."

She actually raised an eyebrow. "I will. Lovely to meet you Sarah."

"Its Sookie. Lovely to meet you as well."

We got in the car, and I tried my best not to glare, as she waved us away. I looked at Eric, my eyebrows raised.

"What is it?"

"That woman wants to have sex with you."

"Don't be silly. She's just very friendly. She's always been." We pulled off her street, onto another, busier one.

"Oh really." I leaned over and mimicked her cast touching, looking at him with the same smouldering look that she had. "What does that do for you?"

"I want to fuck you in the back seat right now. I'm actually looking for somewhere to pull over."

"Point made?"

He signed. "Maybe. She just lost her husband, maybe she's just mourning in her own way."

"By flirting with his boss? His married boss? That's an interesting step in the grieving process. Was she like that when you were there with your Dad?"

"No. She was in sweatpants and had clearly been crying. She was kind of dressed up, now that you mention it."

"Maybe she should write a book on speeding up the grieving process. Did you say we were going to see Jake?"

"Yea, I need to see how Pam's doing. I feel like I've been a bit uncaring, with her dad. Are you up for a visit? I can drop you off at home if you're tired."

"Yea, I'd love to get Pam's take on this, since she knows her."

"I don't like when you two plot."

"No plotting. You're quite innocent in this, since you didn't even realize until I pointed it out. I believe that. You've also been walking about in a bit of a haze, and I'm sure you wouldn't have figured that she'd want to fuck you. But she does. I just want to know what her deal is. Sarah? I bet you miss America? Will you stay in Norway? Oh, you're getting married so soon?

"Dad mentioned the wedding. I call you my wife all the time. She must have missed the wife bit, because of her English. Please don't be jealous. There's really nothing for you to worry about."

"I trust you completely. You've never given me the slightest indication not to, but it doesn't mean I want someone flirting with you, especially right in front of me. I'm about to get very big and fat, and very insecure. She used to be a freakin' model. Would you like it if the situation was reversed, you who got in a fight in my living room with my ex and flew to America when you found out he was coming by."

I watched him think about it for a moment. "No, I wouldn't like it. After tomorrow, I won't really see her again. I think Dad and I are going to set up a college fund for the girls, through the business, and she should get a nice life insurance pay-off, so that should be the end of it. Its not like I'm tied to her, like Pam or anything. I'm sorry for her loss, but its not like I'm planning to fit her into my life in any sort of way. " Eric had really pulled himself out of the dark spot he'd been in a few days ago. He still had moments where he looked pretty down, but they were fewer and further between.

Speaking of Pam, we pulled up to her condo, and went inside. She looked a bit despondent, sitting on the couch with Jake when we went in.

"Hey, we just thought we'd stop by, see how you were doing."

"I'm ok. This just keeps going on and on it seems, with the hospital visits."

"So no change huh."

"The doctors are optimistic, but no, no change."

I piped in. "So we just went to see Hilda. Eric brought the kids a puppy."

Pam raised an eyebrow and perked up instantly. I knew there was more to it, and I wasn't surprised that Eric had been oblivious. "Oh, how did that go?"

"Fine. Except she wants to have sex with Eric, and her husband isn't even in the ground yet. The kids liked the puppy."

"She's always wanted to have sex with Eric, for as long as I've known her, which is about as long as Eric's known her. I'm sure she knew he wouldn't go for it with Anders in the picture, but now she probably thought and thinks she has a chance."

Eric looked a bit shocked. "Pam, that's not true."

She grinned. "Every time you'd drag me to one of those Christmas parties, I had to stick to you like glue, to keep her off you. Anders would have kicked your ass. She kissed you once, remember? Like eight years ago."

I looked at him wide eyed. He'd certainly left that out.

He looked at Pam and shook his head. "And you'll remember what happened with that. She was so drunk she could barely stand, and she thought I was Anders."

"Which would have been a good explanation, except that Anders was about 50 pounds heavier than you and you are about 6 inches taller than he was. Eric, I told you that she wanted you and you never wanted to believe it. The only reason she married Anders was because he got her pregnant, when she was twenty. Remember, she quit modelling."

"You never mentioned that she kissed you." I poked him in the side.

"It was a sloppy, drunken kiss. I pushed her off immediately. I didn't even remember until you just mentioned it Pam." He glared at her, and then looked over to me. "There's really not much I can do here. I'm not going to have sex with her, and that's really the best I can do here." He folded his arms.

"Don't go getting all grumpy. Like I said in the car, I trust you. Its more about her being disrespectful of our relationship, which is her and not you. I just like to be aware of things, that's all."

Pam got a little quiet. "Everything all right Pam?"

She passed me Jake, and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Eric, I need to tell you something."

"What is this, lets fill Eric in on everything he was too blind to see day?"

"I guess so. I wouldn't have said anything, but it seems relevant now. I slept with Hilda. Several times."

Boy, this was turning into quite a day. I found myself glad I took that nap in the car.

Eric's eyes clouded over. "Pam, please don't tell me who you slept with, while we were together. I'm trying to get past all of that, and just be your friend, and work to raise Jake and get along, and it doesn't make it any easier. I see why you thought you should mention it, but I don't want to think about it."

"I just wanted you to be aware of what kind of person she is, and I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings, but its important that you are aware that she doesn't give a shit about your marriage, and she didn't give a shit about hers, so don't put yourself in a vulnerable situation. That's all I'm getting at." She raised her voice a bit.

"I don't cheat Pam, I've never cheated, so why would I put myself in a vulnerable situation?" He was getting angry. The cheating thing was still a raw nerve for him, when it came to Pam. Great, just when things had been going so well, with them getting along.

"I know you don't cheat Eric. I mean, don't put yourself in a situation where she could fabricate anything. But you are pretty oblivious to things when its easier to be. Case in point, me, and Hilda wanting to fuck you for the past ten years. That was what I meant. If anyone knows what its like to have things said that aren't true, its certainly me, and I'd hate to have you or Sookie in that situation." Pam was giving it right back.

"Maybe we should go." I looked at Eric, who was glaring at Pam, who was glaring right back at him.

"Yes, I think you're right. Pam, we'll see you when you drop Jake off tomorrow." I handed Jake back over and mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her. She had had a rough week, and I knew she was just trying to help, in her own convoluted way.

We walked to the car and drove over to our house in silence. When we pulled into the garage and turned off the car, Eric just sat there. "Why can't things just ever be easy, just for a minute. I just want to get him buried and try to move on myself. Its not fair that we get caught up in any of this."

"Then we won't. We'll go to the funeral tomorrow, I'll stick to you like glue, and then we won't see her again. Easy as that."

Eric sighed. "Except that its not. I invited her and the girls to our wedding. Dad just kept talking about it, and she kept looking so interested, it was like when I asked you to talk about the baby the other day, to keep my mind off things, so I invited them."

"Well, that's an interesting twist, but I don't think it'll be a problem. They'll be lots of people there. Just stay away from her, lock the door when you're changing, all of that." I smiled. "And for those few moments that you take your ring off, before we put them back on again, watch out."

"I think I can do that. I'm not doing the night apart bit either, no matter what Mom pushes for. We're already married."

"Good. All the more reason to put Sam, Jason, and Lafayette up in a hotel." I winked at him.


	33. Chapter 33

**Here's the next chapter, nice and early. I may go to every other day updates for a bit, I have to go away for work for the week. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for helping me make it to 600 reviews! Keep them coming!**

***

Eric

I woke up and rolled over the next morning, a bit surprised to see Sookie still in bed. I stroked her hair and she slowly opened her eyes. "You aren't throwing up."

"I'm not. I actually feel fine." I smiled as she stretched out to her full length, which wasn't even close to mine. "I don't even think I'm going to be sick. What time is it?"

"9am, so we have 5 hours until the funeral." She nuzzled herself into my chest, dragging her lips across my nipple. "I don't know how we'll kill the time."

She dragged her lips over my neck, and I felt my dick twitch. "If we were 17, I'd give you a big fat hicky on your neck to mark that you are mine, but I guess your wedding band will have to do."

I had to admit, I kind of liked this possessive streak, even though the situation was completely bizarre surrounding it. "Oh yea? Feeling a little possessive are we?" She nodded and I rolled over onto my side and pressed my body into hers. "Show me." I never promised not to use the whole Hilda situation to my advantage. I just promised not to sleep with her, which would be a very easy promise to keep. Hilda was about as phony as they came, down to her crappy implants. I knew that Anders had loved her dearly, but I think, especially now that I knew she'd been with Pam and God knows who else, that a lot of that love probably came from her bearing his kids, and caring for them when he wasn't around. That, and she was hotter than him, which was always good for the ego.

I was a completely shameless opportunist when it came to my wife's possessive streak. I'd exploit anything that awakened her dominant streak. I never thought I'd be the type of man that liked being owned, but in situations like this, I loved it. I groaned as she slid between my legs and took me in her mouth, taking the length that didn't fit in her hand. Don't get me wrong, I usually liked owning her in bed, but a little role reversal certainly kept things interesting. I ran my fingers through her hair, as she increased her speed in keeping with my moans. I felt my release growing close when she stopped and moved up beside me.

"I want you inside me." More than happy to oblige, I rolled on top of her, trying to support myself with my good arm, and not put too much pressure on her or the bad arm.

"Let me know if I'm squashing you." I moaned into her mouth, as she wrapped her legs around me and I entered her sharply.

"I don't think I'd even notice." She arched her back a bit, pushing me deeper inside of her. "That feels so good. Its like all my senses are amplified. This pregnancy is great for my sex drive."

"Maybe I should just keep you barefoot and pregnant all the time. That's the expression right?" I loved this insatiable Sookie, although regular Sookie was pretty insatiable as well.

"It is, but I don't think you'll feel like that when I'm as big as a house and you can't even get on top of me." Fair point. It wasn't the big as a house part, it was the not being on top part. I did enjoy that.

"Well, I'll enjoy it while I can, but I'll also enjoy being inventive in a few months."

I felt my release growing close, and apparently, so did she. She pulled my face to hers. "Go harder. I'm close." I did, quite turned on, knowing that she was in charge still. I groaned as I came, and I could feel her shudder beneath me. I carefully rolled off of her and laid on my back.

"I love it when you're the boss."

"Just reminding you that you're mine."

"I don't need any reminders, but I loved it all the same."We laid there for a little while, my head on her stomach. "I think this is my new favourite place to be."

"The baby is an inch long right now. I looked it up on the internet."

I smiled, my face turned away from hers. "Its still there. There was nothing, and now there's something. Its pretty amazing." I turned towards her.

"It is. It will be really neat when we can feel him or her."

"I know. I feel like I kind of missed out on some of that with Jake, with Pam, being not my wife, and Jake coming so early." I knew, from the moment I found out that Pam was pregnant that I was never going to be there for every step with Jake, because Pam and I were in very different places, especially then, but I would be with this baby. I went to all the doctor's appointments, saw all the ultrasounds, but I hadn't been there when Pam had felt him move for the first time, I hadn't laid on her stomach, listening to nothing. I hadn't had an insane desire to satisfy her every need.

"Ugh, I guess we should get up." I smiled, as she stroked my hair. "How are you feeling about everything?"

"Ok, I guess. Its not going to be an easy day, by any means." I was trying really hard to get on with living my life, but it was going to be hard, sitting there, watching his crew carry his coffin in, his girls sitting there, not really understanding that he wasn't coming back. I was sure it would be a closed casket, after seeing his body on ice when we were coming back into shore.

"Come on, I'll help you shower. We'll put that bag over your arm again."

Showering had been a challenge. I'd resorting to bathing in the tub downstairs a few times, but even that was hard with one hand. We'd finally worked out a bag system a couple of days ago, and Sookie had kindly volunteered to help me with my bathing needs. We were both undressed from earlier, so it was just a matter of getting the bag set up. I smiled down on Sookie, as she focused hard on tying it tightly around the cast. "I bet this is going to be smelly when it comes off. Six weeks eh?"

"Yea, six weeks of arm sweat. Its going to be hot." We got in the shower, and I stood there, smiling, as she carefully scrubbed my back, and all the other areas I couldn't reach. "I promise, when you can't see your feet, I'll help you out too. I'll be back to two arms way before that."

"I'm counting on it. Why do you think I've been so helpful." She winked and I bent down so she could wash my hair.

"Mom and Dad are going to come pick us up, and we'll go with them."

"Sounds good. You're good to go. I'll be out in a minute, I just need to wash my hair now." I hopped out and started getting dressed. A few minutes later, Sookie joined me. "Maybe I should wear my slutty funeral dress."

"Remember what we decided in Louisiana, we're better than that."

"I know." I sat down on the bed, and she straddled me, helping me with my tie. I knew how to tie a tie, but she looked so cute doing it. "I just need to do my hair, and I'm ready to go."

"I'm just going to make a sandwich, do you want one?"

"Sure." I headed downstairs, and threw together a couple of sandwiches. About ten minutes later she came around the corner.

"You look lovely." I smiled when I noticed she was wearing her watch. She stood in the doorway for a minute, and then ran for the bathroom.

"Turkey not agreeing with you now?" Once again, she pulled her head out of the bowl.

"Nope. Its sure not. I'll be ok, its not too bad. Do you mind brushing your teeth? The smell is what's doing it. I'll just have some fruit or something."

I ran upstairs and quickly brushed my teeth, putting the sandwiches back in the fridge. When I came back down, she was sitting at the kitchen table, picking away at an apple. "I'll eat more later. I don't want to be sick at the funeral."

"Ok, we can stop on the way back and find you something. Mom and Dad will be here in a minute. They just called. Are you ok to go? We can wait a few minutes and go on our own. I'll make up some excuse."

"No, no, I'm ok." She pulled herself up and ran up to brush her teeth.

Mom and Dad arrived a few minutes later, and we headed down to the funeral. There was a huge turnout, at least a few hundred people. Anders had been very well liked, and I was impressed that they kept the service light, and it was very reflective of his very large personality. Sookie unwaveringly held my hand, stroking my palm with her thumb the entire time. It was very calming.

The wake afterwards was held at a hall a few minutes drive away. We'd all agreed not to stay too long, so when we walked in and Hilda wrapped her arms around me. "Thank you for coming Eric. And Peter." Mom shot Sookie a look, and she shrugged and whispered something in her ear, which Mom chuckled at.

We went around and mingled for a bit, spending a bit of time introducing Sookie to the crew of a couple of the ships that Dad owned, and a few other people she hadn't met yet, that were friends of my parents.

After a little while, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. I looked around and noticed the table of tiny sandwiches. The smell had probably set her off.

I waited for her for a bit, and then went to wait outside the bathroom door for her. I felt awful, at the thought of her in there, all alone, violently throwing up, here of all places. I slumped down against the wall after a few minutes, and tried sending her a text, telling her I was outside the door, and we could go home as soon as she was ready.

I'd been sitting there for about five minutes, checking my email on my phone and responding to a few things when I felt someone slide down beside me.

"Is this seat taken?" Hilda. Now she was dressed funeral slutty, with her boob job pressed and exposed for all the world to see. Nothing was that round in nature. At least she was wearing a cardigan over her strapless dress.

"I'm just waiting for my wife."

"You've been here a while. Is everything all right?"

"Yea, she's just a bit under the weather. Lovely service. I think Anders would have approved."

"Yes, it was lovely. I just don't what I'm going to do in that house, all alone." She didn't even look sad. I realized then, that I was completely inept at reading women's emotions. Perhaps it was my many years with Pam, who just told me what she was thinking, for the most part anyway, or that, before Sookie, I never really cared what they were thinking. I was fairly certain though, right now, with her hand creeping up my good arm, that I was, in fact, being flirted with. "I think about you, you know."

Yep, definitely being flirted with. "Hilda, you've had a rough week. I'm flattered that you'd think of me, that way, but I am married, and you the wife of someone who I thought a great deal of. I don't know what kind of man you think I am, but I can tell that I am not one who cheats on his wife."

It was as if she ignored what I said, and just went on with her musings. "I've thought about you for years, since you were eighteen, with your strong arms, and those eyes. You're like a fine wine. You've only gotten better with age. I always thought you could have been a model. And then all the rumours about you and Pamela and your trysts. I would have loved to have been one of those girls." She raised her eyebrows at me. "I know what kind of man you are, and I thought, now that Anders is gone, maybe I would get to find out. You were always so honourable when it came to him."

What the hell did that mean? Had I really been so oblivious to her advances all these years? "Your sources are a bit old. I am not that kind of man anymore. I'm surprised Pamela didn't fill you in on that when you were together, helping her to drive our relationship into the ground." Including Pam in anything really wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"I thought that getting close to Pamela would help me get closer to you, since you were so inseparable for all those years. It wasn't so long ago, that I was in your bed." She winked at me.

"Well if you knew me at all, you would know that that was the quickest way to turn me off. Pamela's fuck fest with half of Oslo's women under 30 is the reason that we are no longer together. Mind you, at the time I was angry, but now I've moved on. And that's not my bed anymore."

"Your American. She looks so young and innocent. We could do things she couldn't even imagine."

What did she mean by that? "Yep, she's my American. Anyway Hilda, as appropriate as this conversation is at your husband's funeral, I think I'm going to say the hell with the ladies only sign on the door and just go in and get my wife. All the best, and if you need any assistance with the paperwork for Anders' life insurance, call the office." I pulled myself up to my feet, and went into the women's bathroom. "Sookie, are you ok?"

"Yea, I think I'm almost done. I only had an apple today, and I'm pretty sure its come up by now."

"Ok, I'm just out here if you need me."

"Why are you in here?"

"I got mauled by Hilda while I was waiting outside the door for you. I figured it was safer in here." A middle aged woman glared at me as she pushed her way into a stall.

"You can tell me about it when we get home. Your mother told me to keep an eye on the situation, because Hilda is a notorious slut. I told her I was. Really though, at her husband's wake?"

"I know. I don't think she'll show for the wedding now, if that's any consolation."

"I guess it is." She emerged from the bathroom, looking peckish. "I really want some tomato soup. Can we get some, and maybe you can make me a grilled cheese sandwich when we get home?"

"Of course. We can get you whatever you want."

"Can you carry this baby so I don't feel sick every day?"

"No." I wrapped my good arm around her. "But I can get you your soup."

"I guess that will have to do."

We emerged from the bathroom and went to find my parents, who were looking ready to go as well. Hilda had left the bathroom and was playing the mourning widow bit quite well, clasping hands with anyone that would have her. They dropped us off, and Mom made a comment about keeping the man eater at bay, which Sookie laughed at. As soon they were gone, we went to the grocery store and picked up everything that Sookie was craving and then went over to pick up Jake. I was a bit short with Pam, because I was still a bit mad, from yesterday.

We got home and I put Jake on the couch with Sookie, and made her dinner. "You better eat. You are eating for two now Lover."

"I know. I'll eat this. It smells wonderful. It just seems to be meat that's setting me off." Jake cooed beside her, playing happily with his hands and feet. "Pam says we can start him on real food in a month or so."

"That will be fun." He was really turning into a little person before our eyes.

"So tell me about Hilda."

"I knew that was coming. She propositioned me, and I turned her down. You would have liked it. I just got up and went into the women's washroom. She told me we could do things that you couldn't even imagine."

"Oh really? I wonder what that would involve."

'Whips, chains, handcuffs probably. Who knows or cares. Anyway, I said I'd rather stick with my American, as she so kindly called you."

"Good answer." She looked a bit apprehensive.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, its nothing." She went back to her soup. Did she think I brought that up for a reason?

"Come on now. What is it?" I kneeled beside her on the floor.

"I just feel a bit, well, under experienced sometimes." Ah, the 23.

"Lover, if I there were things I wanted to do that you couldn't imagine, I can tell you, with all certainty, that I've already done them, and they weren't that great. At the time they were, but one thing I learned, perhaps the hard way, is that while things may feel good at the time, when its over, you're just left with a hole, and nothing real to hold onto. With that said, if there is anything that you want to imagine into reality, then I am game."

"I'll keep that in mind." She raised an eyebrow at me.


	34. Chapter 34

**So I had a bit of free time (yay!) and not much else to do in my hotel room, so I hammered out a chapter for you folks! Thanks for the feedback on the other few chapters from the weekend, and let me know what you think!**

The next week or so flew by, and was full of finalizing wedding plans. Dad and I got our tuxes, we had a meeting with a proper Norwegian minister, we cleared the catering menu, booked a hotel for our Louisiana guests, and a million other things that I didn't really care about. Mom commented on Sookie's breasts a couple of times, but we were able to laugh it off, and chalk it up to a new bra. I was pretty sure she didn't suspect a thing. It was really nice to have a secret between us, when everything else, especially with the wedding, involved so many other people.

Sookie's morning sickness had all but vanished, but we had become vegetarians for the time being because the smell of meat or fish really bothered her. We were both particular about no luncheon meats with the wedding food, and we were able to work around it. Sookie's boys, as Mom had taken to calling them, were due in about a week, and she was getting pretty excited to see them, especially Sam. She hadn't told them about her pregnancy either, and wasn't sure if she was going to. I was leaving it up to her.

We had Jake for the week, as Pam was in New York at her art show. Jake was finally sleeping in the nursery we'd created for him, all those months ago, and sleeping for around six hours a night, so our sleep patterns had almost returned to normal. It was about six in the morning, when I heard him fussing on the baby monitor. I got up, and gave him his breakfast, and returned to bed, wrapping my arms around my wife.

I awoke what seemed like a few minutes later, with sunlight streaming in the room, and the feeling of someone pressed up behind me. I looked to see Sookie's golden hair in front of me, and I rolled over to see what was going on on the other side of the bed.

"Hey you."

I rubbed my eyes. "Pam, I thought you were in New York. What are you doing here?" Oddly enough, I wasn't unhappy to see her, probably for the first time in weeks.

"I'm here to break in your new bed silly, and your new wife."

"Oh." I smiled, as she reached over my chest, and gently rubbed Sookie's back. She turned to face her, her eyes blinking from the light.

"Hi Pam, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to make your fantasy into a reality." I laid between them, as Pam reached over and pulled Sookie's tank top off. "Those are as fantastic as I imagined. Eric, you're a lucky man." I looked over at her, to see that she wasn't wearing a thing, which was her usual sleeping attire. "May I?"

"Sure Pam, you have to feel these." She moved her hands to cup her breasts and gently pinched her nipples.

"You see, Eric, the problem with us, is that we were both into breasts. I never sleep with anyone smaller than a C-cup, beside you of course. Sookie, these really are exquisite. I'm sure people must think they are implants all the time, but they feel so much better. They have such weight to them."

"Thanks Pam." Sookie smiled and rolled onto her back.

I groaned a little, as Pam lay her chest over mine, and began paying closer attention to Sookie's breasts, running her tongue over her pert nipples. I pulled the blanket back, to expose Pam's tight little ass. It had always been her best attribute, since she was lacking in the breast department. I ran my hand over it, and slapped it a bit, the way I remembered that she liked it. "Pam, you're a naughty girl, coming over here and expecting me to share."

She looked back and me and pouted. "But we shared lots of times before. Just once? Look, she likes it."

I looked at Sookie, who was moaning at Pam's ministrations. "Ok, but only once." Pam smiled at me and pulled Sookie over me and in between us.

Sookie smiled up at me, her blue eyes sparkling. "You really don't mind?"

"No Lover, I can never say no to you." I pulled her face towards mine, and kissed her deeply. I slid my hand down her body and eased it underneath her underwear, finding her very aroused. I slid one, then two fingers inside of her, and she bucked beneath my touch. Pam moved on top of her, pressing their chests together, as she mimicked my kiss from a few minutes before. I moaned as Sookie took one of her breasts in her hand, and began rolling her nipple between her thumb and forefinger.

"You like that?" She winked at me, and went back to kissing Pam. After a few minutes, I pulled Sookie on top of me.

"I do, but lets give this a try." She moaned, as I lowered her onto my very hard erection. Pam, never one to be left out, moved to sit on my chest and continued to kiss Sookie and play with her breasts, as she began to move up and down, on my cock. It was so hot, listening to the two of them, moaning and sucking at each other. After a few minutes, I pulled myself up on the headboard, so I could get a better look at everything that was going on in my lap. It was well worth it. Pam had moved one hand down, and was stroking between Sookie's legs, and after a moment or two, I felt her clench around me. I pulled my arms around the two of them, taking one of their breasts in each hand. They both began to moan, and I felt Sookie come again, crying out, and then removing herself from my cock.

"I'm not done yet." I pouted, as she moved her mouth to mine.

"Its Pam's turn."

"I don't want to fuck Pam though. I want to fuck you."

"You have to share Eric. Pam needs to get off too."

"I don't care if Pam gets off."

"Well, if you aren't going to take care of Pam, then I'm going to have to." I felt extremely conflicted, as Pam moved to lay on her back, and Sookie slid her hand between her legs. Pam began writhing beneath her touch. Sookie began to lower herself between her legs.

"I changed my mind. I don't want this." They ignored me and continued.

"How about me Eric. Do you want me?" I turned to see Hilda, wearing the corset and garters that Sookie had worn on our American wedding night, enter the room, and swing her legs over me, positioning herself over my still hard cock.

"No, I don't want either of you. I just want Sookie. I want my wife. I want my wife!"

"Eric, I'm right here." I opened my eyes to see Sookie standing beside the bed, staring at me wide eyed, holding Jake, wearing my boxers and undershirt, her hair askew.

"Oh." Thank God. It had a dream, that had quickly turned into a nightmare. I let out a sigh.

"What were you yelling about? I could hear you all the way in Jake's room, but it wasn't in English, and I couldn't really pick anything out." She crawled back into bed, putting Jake between us, being careful of my arm.

"Just a nightmare."

"A nightmare about Pam?" She'd picked that much out.

"Yea, kind of. Among other things." I was in a cold sweat.

"Geez, its ok. I don't know what Pam could have done to get you so worked up." She brushed the hair out of my face and kissed me gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. No I don't. I'd like to forget all about it."

She laughed. "All right then. Four days until my boys arrive! I'm so excited to see Sam and Laf. Jason I can take or leave, but the other two? I'm stoked. And Amelia! She'll be here a few days after."

I smiled at her, trying to erase my nightmare orgy from my mind. "Its going to be an interesting mix of people. Ok, I lied. I do want to talk about it."

"Ok?" She smirked at me. "Now tell me what Pam did. In your dream."

"It wasn't so much what Pam did, but who Pam did." I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yea?"

"Yea. Remember when we had that fantasy talk a few days ago? I'd like to put some conditions on it, well, really one condition. "

She looked at me, deadpan. "Eric, I'm not going to have sex with Pam. Even if you wanted to, I wouldn't. Its bad enough I have to know that the two of you used to fuck, and have a wild sex life and all that. I don't ever want to see it."

I pulled her into my chest. "Thank you. It was really terrible." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "You were going down on her."

She scrunched up her nose, and then started laughing. "When I mentioned being under experienced, I thought maybe you'd want to tie me up with a scarf, or blindfold me, or use some chocolate sauce or something. I'm not Pam. I don't want anyone else in our bed. Ever. We've had this conversation."

"Sorry, I know. It was just an awful dream. Hilda was there too. Make it go away." I buried my head in her shirt. "Her and Pam had sex in my old bed, in this very room. Thank God I replaced the bed."

"Gross. I feel like all this exposure to the ghosts of orgasms past is really doing a number on your head. Well I guess Hilda didn't fit into that category, but anyway, you've had a lot dragged up. I'm sure things will go back to normal soon, which should put an end to your nightmares. You crazy Europeans with your sexual experimentation. Are you just dealing with this now? A year later? You really boxed that up deep inside eh? Besides, think of it this way. I don't even swallow. Do you really think I'm going to go down on a woman? I don't think so."

That was a fair point. "Fair point. So you want me to tie you up?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You really have a one track mind." She shook her head. "Maybe. Sometime, I don't know."

"Duly noted."

When Pam came back from New York a couple of days later to pick up Jake, I couldn't even look her in the eye. "Are you having second wedding jitters or something? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, its fine. I just have a lot on the go. Pam, how many women did you bring back here? Hilda said she'd been in my bed."

"Jesus Eric, I don't know. I thought you didn't want to talk about it."

"I don't want names, just a rough estimate."

"Sixty? Give or take. There you go. Happy?"

"No. Anyway, thanks for your honesty. I'll see you in a few days." I had her out the door in seconds. Sookie was out with my Mom having a last minute dress fitting, because the Louisiana contingent would be arriving tomorrow night, and she wanted to spend some time with them. I sat down at my desk and made a decision.

When Sookie arrived home a while later, with shopping bags that she didn't want me to see, I knew I was in for a wedding night treat. She popped into my office a few minutes later, and curled up onto my lap.

"Lover, I think I've made a decision."

"What would that be? Please tell me you don't want little sandwiches at our wedding. I couldn't stand it." She giggled and mussed up my hair. "Did you make a hair appointment yet?"

"Yea, I made one earlier. I think we should buy a new house. Somewhere that's just ours."

She shrugged. "I thought you loved this house."

"I do, well I did, but with another baby on the way, we're going to be short on room when Jake stays over." I was justifying, but I knew that was a pretty weak reason. We had lots of room here, for the immediate future.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "This isn't about that is it." Damnit, she knew me too well.

"No. Its about my dream the other night. What you said about the ghosts of orgasms past really struck a cord. I asked Pam this morning for a number of women she had in our house and she said 60."

"Didn't you only live here with her for a year? That's over one a week. And I assume you were here some weeks."

"I know. And you thought 23 was a big number."

"Glad you had that STD test before we slept together."

"Me too. Anyway, what do you think? New house?"

"Yea, that might be nice. Maybe somewhere with more of a yard. Maybe I can give you some of the money from Gran's house to put towards it."

"Excellent. I'll hire a real estate agent. I want you to to keep that money for school." She shrugged at my suggestion. I was glad she was getting more comfortable with me spending our money on us. "We can have a list by the end of the week. Any other things you want?"

She looked thoughtful. "Two sinks, and a dishwasher." The townhouse only had one sink, which was very odd, and annoying for dishes.

"Deal."


	35. Chapter 35

**The next chapter! Thanks for the feedback on the last one, it was really fun to write. I'm still away with work, and would love love love some feedback on this one! What's on the other side of that door? Let me know what you think!**

Sookie

I was practically jumping up and down at the airport, waiting for Lafayette, Jason, and Sam.

"Lover, you're practically buzzing." Eric walked up, pushing a luggage cart.

"I'm just so excited for them to see where I'm living. And to see them!" I'd spent most of yesterday cleaning and cooking a huge Norwegian meal for tonight. Pam was coming, and bringing Jake, much to Eric's chagrin.

It was the situation with Helga that had really caused a bit of a rift between them, although it had been over a year ago that Pam had her at our house. I think it was easier for him to think of Pam's cheating with a bunch of nameless women, than women he actually knew. I wasn't naive enough to think that he was going to be completely over that, since we'd met a week after it all came crashing down on him. Its like a lot of things, that sometimes take a specific incident to set them off. He was doing all right with it though, and I was happy to be supportive, which was pretty easy, because it just meant that I didn't want to sleep with anyone else, which was the truth. I'd never been interested in sleeping with women, heck, I didn't even really have any close female friends, save for Tara and Amelia, and Pam, I guess. I'd always grown up surrounded by boys, and then men, and that was how I liked it. I found it a bit weird that Eric didn't have any problem with that, but I guess he knew, with his massive ego, that he was the man.

"The sign just changed. It looks like their flight has arrived."

I squealed and ran up to Sam, holding on for dear life. "Sam, I can't believe you're here!"

"What am I, chop liver?" Jason emerged a minute later, and I moved, and gave him a decidedly less enthusiastic hug.

"Where's Lafayette?"

"Fixing his makeup. He'll be down in a minute."

Eric greeted Sam and Jason with a little wave. "Man, you are one clumsy dude." Jason eyed his arm.

"Yea, that was from more of a freak accident than a fight."

"I have arrived." Lafayette, in all his glory, emerged from the gate. "I hope you're ready Oslo, because I am going to rock this bitch."

"Laf!" I ran up and wrapped my arms around him.

"Sook, you look as good as always. Those breasts, mm mm mm."

"Uh, thanks." Shit, were they really that much bigger?

"And you." He turned to Eric. "I really do think that you two are into some kinky shit. Every time I see you you have some wild injury."

"Good to see you Lafayette." He extended his good arm, but Lafayette ignore it, and wrapped him up in a hug.

"You family, especially since I will have been at two weddings of yours now. We hug."

I smiled as Eric smiled.

We got all their luggage and loaded it into the back of the SUV and headed for home. I smiled as Jason, who had never travelled much took in the landscape, which was very different from home. After about 20 minutes, we pulled up to the townhouse. It was a bit strange, my two worlds colliding.

"I made a big Norwegian dinner for everyone. Let me call Pam, and then we can eat."

"Baby Momma Pam?" Lafayette asked with a smirk.

"The one and only." Eric groaned a bit.

"Dude, I just got to say, you don't look like a baby momma kind of guy, but I like it. It shows that you aren't just some panzy European pretty boy." That was probably the nicest thing Jason ever said to him.

"Uh, thanks, but you might want to reserve judgement until you meet her. She's not exactly your typical baby momma." I imagined a hoochie Pam, with fake nails and cornrows in her blond hair, which I imagined was what Jason was picturing.

"Eric, this place is really nice." Sam looked around, immediately noticing the two pictures of me that were still stuck in the hall mirror.

"Yea. I've lived here for a couple of years, but I think we're going to start looking for a bigger place."

"For just the two of you?" Sam, who lived in a 500 sq. foot trailer, looked a little surprised.

"Well, we have my son about half the time, and, we might want to have kids in the near future." We'd decided not to say anything, until after the wedding. We both just wanted to make it through the wedding, before everyone started fussing over the next thing.

"Hooka, you pregnant? I knew it, the minute I saw those boobs." Busted.

"Lafayette, don't be ridiculous. I'm sure Sookie would have mentioned if she was pregnant. Eric just said in the near future, not right now." Sam was trying to be the voice of reason.

I looked at Eric, who was trying not to laugh. "The jig is up. I am pregnant. Laf, I don't know why you have such a good eye for boobs, but you got me. Now if you'll excuse me, meat makes me ill, and I made meatballs earlier, and they are obviously cooked to perfection, so they are making me nauseous. I'll be back in ten." I sprinted for the upstairs bathroom, so everyone wouldn't have to hear me make love to the bowl. The morning sickness had all but vanished, it was just the smell of meat that did it, and only sometimes.

Eric quietly joined me a few minutes later. "I hooked them up with beer and put them in front of some American sports on the tv. I can't believe you fessed up." He smiled and rubbed my back.

"They are going to be around this week. It was that, or have them think I've developed an eating disorder that makes my boobs bigger."

There was a knock at the front door. Lafayette yelled up that he would get it, and we let him, knowing it would be Pam. We heard a bit of cooing over Jake and I moved to get up, but Eric stopped me. "They can introduce themselves. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yea, I'm ok."

As predicted, Pam and Lafayette hit it off famously, him referring to her as Baby Momma every time he had the chance. At about ten, after everyone had had their fill of dinner, Lafayette suggested that Pam take them out on the town. Pam took the opportunity to be the life of the party, which I hadn't seen before, but certainly fit more into her socialite fucking persona, as Eric called it. Being the old married couple, we were put in charge of babysitting, while my boys and Pam went out. Eric looked incredibly relieved to be able to use Jake as an excuse. She promised that she'd make sure they got to their hotels afterwards, and I once again applauded myself for deciding that they weren't staying here.

Eric and I, the picture of domesticity, put Jake to bed shortly after they left, and curled up in bed ourselves.

"They were only here for four hours, but the silence is so golden."

"I was never much into the club scene."

"I guess Pam always did your trolling for you." I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Pam was always very into the club scene, and I used to think, why would I go out when she was willing to do all the work." He winked at me. "I'd much rather lay here and snuggle with the two of you any day." He wrapped an arm around my stomach, rubbing it gently. I didn't mind him joking about his past. I was glad he was honest about it, it would have been much more disconcerting if he'd never mentioned anything about any of it.

"Oh, you were going to show me the houses that the real estate agent found us."

"Oh yea. Let me go get them." I loved this house, but he had a point. Pam had wonderful decorating tastes, but it would be nice to be somewhere that was just ours. Pam's 60 conquests all over our house was a bit for me to stomach, let alone Eric, who who had been cuckolded. I'd been swallowing my pride on the financials because I knew Eric could afford it, and we were married. I also knew that once we had this baby, I'd probably go back to school part time, but that a lot of the child care would fall on me, when he started travelling again, which I was ok with, but it would affect my ability to earn a wage, and I was all for mother's being paid for child care. That was my rationalization.

He came up with a thick stack of houses, with the prices blacked out, and crawled back into bed. "I don't want you looking at how much they cost, I just want you to find one you like."

"You know me too well. Fine then." I started going through these. "Most of these houses have 6 bedrooms." I was a bit shocked at the prospect of moving up to such a huge house.

"This house has four, so I figured we'd need six. I need a home office, Jake needs a room, we need a room, and this one needs a room." He patted my stomach. "And we decided we wanted to have two, so that one will need one too, which leaves us with one spare room."

"You really did the math. This one has a huge yard." I pulled out a two story house that resembled Eric's parents house. It was beautiful, with high ceilings, beautiful wooden floors, and the two sinks I was dying for.

"That one is nice, and on the opposite end of the city from my parent's, which works for me. There are a few in there that are a few blocks away, which I think would be a mistake. It will be nice to have Mom to babysit sometimes, but I like a bit of distance too. We'll go look at it."

"After the wedding?"

"No, probably tomorrow. Things move fast. If we wait a week, it will probably be gone. I'll email the agent before I go to bed."

"Wow, that's fast."

"It will take a while to close, if we decide on it. We'll have a couple of months."

Sam and Jason showed up for breakfast around 11am the next day, both looking like something the cat dragged in.

"Fun night boys? Where's Lafayette?"

"He's entertaining. He said he'd be by this afternoon." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Sure am glad we sprung for our own rooms." I smiled at him, a knowing smile.

"That Pam knows all the girls. We spent all night dancing with all these hot chicks." Jason had a huge smile on his face. "Everyone here is blond and hot." I really needed a reminder of that, as I glanced down at my growing waist. I wasn't going to be able to hide this for long.

"So you guys are having a good time? Jason, I'm sorry that Crystal couldn't make it."

Jason sat down at the table, looking a bit sheepish"Well her and me, I don't know what's happening there. We got in a fight and she spat out that the baby wasn't mine, but then took it back. I decided we were takin' a break since I was comin' here." Lovely. It was going to be Jason and Lafayette do Oslo. Maybe Sam would find someone to dance with at the wedding.

***

Eric

The next few days flew by. Amelia and Trey came, which was a nice switch from Jason and Lafayette. I quite liked Sam, even though he still obviously wanted Sookie. I could deal with that, knowing that it wasn't going to happen. He never seemed like much of a threat. I was a bit cocky, but I kind of figured that if Sookie was going to sleep with Sam, she would have done it years ago.

We took them on a tour around the city one afternoon, and had a really great time. Trey was even more fun than I remembered, and we had a few too many beers one night, and got a little silly. Sookie kind of just said she wasn't drinking, which I could tell piqued Amelia's interest, but she didn't ask, and Sookie didn't tell.

We went to see the house, and put an offer in right away. It was perfect, and I knew from the look when Sookie walked in the door, that she loved it. We had 90 days until it closed, so that was three months to pack up and buy what we needed.

I was able to trade my giant cast for a much smaller one, that actually fit under my tux. It still wrapped around my thumb, but was much less obnoxious than the other one.

Pam took the boys out a couple more times, and each time they seemed to have a bit more fun than the last. I think we were both relieved to have them out of our hair for a bit, since we still had a bit of wedding stuff to do. They tried to talk me into a bachelor party of some sort, but I wormed my way out of it, since we were technically already married and I wasn't a bachelor. The thought of going out with Sookie's brother, who was picking up left and right was also a bit of a turn off, partly because I was pretty sure if I was with Pam, then I'd run into someone we'd fucked.

The big day redux came all too quickly, and all of a sudden, I was holding Jake, while Pam, wearing a slightly inappropriate, short, black, tight dress, put him in a little tux in one of the spare rooms at my parents house. "So you're finally doing it eh? Your southern belle tamed the Northman."

"Pam, I've been tame for quite some time. And yes, I am finally doing it, for the second time in 4 months. Really, black to my wedding? People are going to talk." I smirked.

"Hey, you'll kindly remember who ended things with who." My smirk turned to a glare. "You picked well, she's really something, to put up with all of the chaos in your life."

"I know. She's so great with Jake, and that means a lot. Its not often you get a trial run with someone who is having your child."

"True. So I have a confession to make."

"Pam, not today." I looked at her, a blank and tired expression on my face. I really didn't need to hear whatever she was going to tell me.

"Its not about me and you. Jason took Hilda home from the bar the other night, when we threw you your absentee bachelor party. Don't worry, I abstained from joining in." She grinned, like I should have been impressed. When we first ended things, I would have been pissed if she was sleeping with other guys, but I was over it. Pam could fuck who she pleased, I just didn't want to hear about it, any more than I wanted to hear who Jason was sleeping with. The fact that it was Hilda made it even more repulsive.

"Gross. I don't know why you felt the need to tell me that, but thanks? Is that what I'm supposed to say?"

"The point of me telling you, is that Jason is bringing her to the wedding. They talked about it all night. She kept going on and on about how you invited her. I just didn't want you to be surprised if you ran into her."

Sookie was going to shit."Well, thanks I guess. Anyway Pam, I need to get ready, so I'll see you in a bit. Goodbye little man, I'll see you soon."

***

Sookie

I was dressed, pressed, made up, and ready to go. Amelia had stuck with me the entire time, and I was incredibly grateful for her support through everything. Eric's mom flashed between lovely and terrifying, as she barked orders at caterers and did her best to keep the two of us apart before the ceremony, which was hard for her, since it wasn't really a priority for either of us. I'd snuck glances at him in his tux, and I couldn't wait to get a full visual. Elise had commented on the fit of my dress a couple of times, particularly in the bust, but I shrugged it off, and chalked it up to a week of non-existent partying with my friends. We'd have to tell them very soon. I looked out the window and smiled when I saw Sam, Trey, and Lafayette talking to Peter, Lafayette in a very presentable tan suit. I didn't care if he hauled out his finest evening gown, but I knew Elsie cared about what her guests thought.

After a few minutes of agreeing to a bunch of mindless things, like seating arrangements, which seemed silly for a garden party, I was finally able to sneak up to Eric's childhood room, where I figured he'd be getting ready. I just wanted a minute with him, just to let the chaos melt away, so we could get this over with, which, I know that is an awful thing to think on your wedding day, but I was feeling less and less like this was my day. After getting the coast is clear signal from Amelia, I ran up the stairs, holding my train, looked both ways and quietly opened the door.

What I saw, was something that would haunt my dreams forever.


	36. Chapter 36

**Aw, I do update quickly, and a lot of you were spot on with your predictions! I'm not a terrible person, and that was really the only way it could pan out without me totally ruining my characters! Anyway, the cliffie worked, and I got a ton of reviews, but keep them coming! I'm 20 away from 700, which would be awesome!**

I had walked in on two people, very blond people, in the throes of some very graphic sex. The woman was bent over the bed, and the man was pounding away, relentlessly, his hands twisted in her hair. They hadn't even noticed me, and I choked back a gasp, when I realized that the woman was Hilda. Sounds of sex were in the air, and I had never heard a more disgusting symphony. Then I looked at the hair of the man, who was pounding away, since I couldn't see his face and my heart broke when I saw that it was the same colour as mine. I slammed the door, walked down the steps part way, and sat in tears, my head in my hands. How could I have been so stupid, misreading someone so terribly. I had believed Eric when he said he wasn't interested in her. How could I have believed that. She was a model, tall and thin. I looked down at my ever expanding waistline. What the hell was I going to do now? I'd totally fucked my life up.

I cried for a minute, grateful that no one came by to ask what was wrong. Then I got angry. How could he have bullshitted me after all we'd been through? I'd cared for his child, I'd moved here for him, I'd agreed to this ridiculous second marriage ceremony to make his mother happy. I was having his child for Christ's sake. I wasn't some ridiculous woman that was going to put up with this. Not on my second wedding day, not on any day. I wasn't going to let this slide. I was going to confront him, and make him regret the day he'd ever interfered in my life, that day back in Osaka, and then possibly murder him. I stomped back up the stairs, fists clenched, but then when my hand was on the doorknob, I was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Lover? I've been looking all over for you." I turned around to see Eric standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking impossibly handsome in a tux. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

I turned around and walked back down the stairs, my hands on my hips. "Where were you?"

"I had to drive home and get some underwear. I remembered that I was wearing a rented tux, so I couldn't very well go commando. What's wrong?" I walked into his arms, and he buried his face in my very elaborate updo, holding me tight. "You look amazing. I'll try to look surprised when you walk down the isle." Eric had decided to rent a tux, under immense pressure from his mother. He and his father both owned tuxes, but she thought they should match from some bizarre reason. One again, I really hoped she was enjoying this.

"I went up to see you in your room, and I thought..."

"What?"

"That you were up there with Hilda."

He buried his head a little deeper. "That's why I was looking for you."

"What?" I pulled away.

"It wasn't me Lover. I wasn't upstairs, remember?" He raised an eyebrow. "What I wanted to tell you is that Jason hooked up with her last night. Pam told me a little while ago, and I wanted to tell you, so you wouldn't be shocked to see her here. She came with him." He rolled his eyes. "I don't know how she didn't possibly get the idea that her invitation was rescinded, after everything, but I guess she's a bit thick."

"God, I don't know what I was thinking. It was the hair colour. Jason has the same hair colour too, and I just looked for a second. His is much shorter than yours though." I smacked myself on the forehead. "And you are like 8 inches taller than him. There's no way you could possibly achieve that position with that low bed, without looking like you were doing the wheelbarrow. I should have known it wasn't you. She was bent over the bed, and..."

"And there's that thing, where I would never have sex with Hilda." He smirked, his eyes twinkling.

"Ah yea, I guess there's that too. Fucking Jason."

"Yep, that's what she was doing." He grinned. "Him and half of Oslo probably. Anders must be rolling over in his grave. He hasn't even been dead a month. Anyway, I'm sorry for the moments of grief that caused you, and I'm sorry my mother is driving you batty, believe me, she's driving me batty too. You seem to be unable to have a wedding without complete and utter insanity surrounding it. Last time it was Bill, and this time, this? I promise, we'll never get married again." He winked at me, his hands, still in mine.

"Promise?" I wiped some residual tears from my eyes. Pregnancy had certainly made me a bit bonkers.

"Promise. Now you better find some way to clean up your makeup, before Mom interrogates you about why you were crying, unless of course, you want to tell her what's going on in there." Elsie would love that. She'd already been put off when Jason told her the story about taking a break from his baby momma because she said it might not be his. Her exact words to me later had been, "At least my son knows when he's fathered a child." Which was true, I guess, but only because Pam didn't exactly like what men had to offer, except for Eric's, which I could I could hardly argue with. It was pretty fantastic.

I realized that was I standing there, silent, with Eric looking at me. "How long until the ceremony?" I recovered, trying not to think about what Eric had to offer under that tux.

"About an hour."

"I have a better idea." I raised an eyebrow and pulled him up the stairs and into the small bathroom and locked the door. " The hell with the makeup. Let's practice our kiss."

He picked me up and set me on the counter, and he growled his response. "That's the best suggestion I've heard all day." Our lips met, and it was pure, unadulterated chemistry. There was no urgency, no expectation to do anything but kiss and kiss, my arms around his neck, his around my waist. That is, until we were interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

"Sookie, are you in there? Elsie wants to make sure you're ready."

"Its not time yet though." I kept my head titled on Eric's, our foreheads touching, our eyes locked. If I had thought I could get us both out of our respective outfits, and then back into them,I would have fucked him right there on the floor. Pregnancy was really wreaking havoc on my emotions, I'd experienced sadness, fury, joy, and horniness all in the span of about 10 minutes. The honeymoon suite we'd booked was sounding better and better. Maybe I could talk him into skipping all of this and going there right now instead.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger. She's looking for Eric too, so if he's in there, you better both come out, before she comes up and you ruin her perfect wedding." Amelia laughed at the last part.

We sheepishly emerged from the bathroom and Amelia looked at me, wide eyed. "Sookie, your makeup is ruined. Elsie is going to shit."

"Can you help me fix it? Please Ames?" I put on my best pout.

"Fine. Eric, you go downstairs and distract her for ten minutes. Do a little dance, whatever it takes." Eric gave me one last peck and ran down the stairs. Amelia followed him and got my makeup bag and met me back up in the bathroom. "What the fuck happened to your face? I'm going to have to retie your dress in the back too, you're practically busting out of it. By the way, were your boobs always this huge?"

I laughed. "Long story on the makeup, short story on the boobs. I'm pregnant Amelia."

Her eyes went wide, first in shock, and then a smile came over her face. "That's great Sook. I'm guessing you haven't told grandma yet. I should have known when you weren't boozing the other night." She wrapped her arms around me, and then got out the lip liner.

"Nope, let's get this over with first, and then we'll tell her." I'd been so wrapped up in this whole wedding bit, that I forgot that people would actually be happy for us. We were married and of an acceptable age to have kids. Why wouldn't people be happy?

"So why were you crying?"

"I walked in on Jason and some slut that Pam slept with and who wanted Eric for the past ten years having sex, and because I am a bumbling, emotional mess, I assumed it was Eric, because we all have the same colour. It wasn't him, of course, he ran home to get underwear, and he would never sleep with her, and I was so relieved that I suggested that we come up and practice our kiss, and here we were."

Amelia started laughing. "You've had an eventful morning."

"You're telling me."

"There, you look presentable again." I turned and looked in the mirror.

"Thanks Ames. I owe you one."

"Happy to help. Now lets take you downstairs before Elsie comes up looking for you, because you know that's not going to be good."

"Deal."

We went downstairs, our arms linked, and ran right into Hilda and Jason.

"Oh, hey Sook. You know Hilda?"

"Yes, we've met." I glared at her, not giving a shit what she thought. Jason and I would talk about this later, and it was not going to go well for Jason. Not only had he had me thinking that my husband was not only cheating on me, but with the sluttiest slut I knew, but I'd had to witness him giving it to the sluttiest slut. The noises were the worst. It was traumatizing. That was not a position I had ever wanted to see my brother in, let alone in my husband's childhood room, that Elise had already started calling Jake's room for when he got older and stayed over.

"I'm so happy to be here, at your wedding, and to meet a new friend." She grinned at Jason, who grinned right back. Jesus, did he not learn anything from the whole Crystal thing? He'd really stick his dick in anyone. I rolled my eyes at Amelia as Hilda straightened her tube dress and pulled her bra up.

"Yea, well, good for you. Anyway, we have things to do. Jason, I'll see you in a bit. You still want to walk me down the isle?"

"Yea sure Sook." Jason looked like it was nothing and Hilda looked impressed at his gesture. I was glad that it had been Sam at my real wedding.

Amelia and I continued our way downstairs. "Boy, what a slut. I bet she has a tramp stamp or two."

"Tell me about it. She actually threw herself at Eric at her husband's wake, while I was in the bathroom puking. I could kill the both of them, but then that might postpone the wedding and I couldn't stand to drag that on for a minute longer than I have to."

"Classy. So pregnancy is that fun eh?" Amelia grinned widely. I was glad she knew.

"Oh yea. You'll notice there's hardly any meat on the menu today. It makes me puke, which is actually nice because I can avoid it. It was much worse when morning made me puke."

"Great. Something to look forward to, in the far, far future."

"That's what I thought too, but here I am." I squeezed her arm. "I'm really happy and all, but it was most unplanned."

"At least you are in a good spot to have an unplanned pregnancy. You aren't sixteen anymore, and you are married, well in America, and soon in Norway." She nodded at me and laughed. "The adventures of Sookie Stackhouse. At least no one could argue your life is boring."

"Sookie Northman. We did the paperwork last week."

"Fine, whatever."

Just then, I was made aware that we were not alone. Elsie came up behind us, clearing her throat. It turned out she'd been there for a while. "Sookie, you're pregnant? Is it true? I knew those weren't your boobs." Shit shit shit. She must have overheard Amelia.

I stood there, my mouth open, for what seemed like three hours, but was more like five minutes, trying to formulate an answer. "We didn't want to throw a damper on the wedding." That was the first thing that came out. "Amelia, can you go find Eric. Now?" That excuse wasn't going to fly, and after walking in on what I had, I didn't think I was strong enough to deal with her on my own.

"Sure Sook." She ran off, leaving me there, to face the wrath of Elise Northman, who was, at the moment, the scariest woman alive.

"How long have you known?" I mulled it over in my head. Was it better to tell her that we just found out, or to say we were waiting until we were sure everything was all right? I don't think you did that with parents, and I was sure Elsie wouldn't either. After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, I was once again saved by my white knight, who came up behind me and grabbed my hand.

"Mom, we will talk about this in two days. Not today, not tomorrow, but the next day." Eric was deflecting, and I couldn't have loved him anymore than at that very moment. "We had our reasons, but today, we are just going to do this, and not go into any baby talk. One thing at a time." He squeezed my hand.

Elsie opened her mouth to protest, but the look on Eric's face made her clamp her mouth shut. "You two are not supposed to see each other before the wedding."

"I think we can forgo that little tradition, seeing that we're already married." He was really giving it to her. His expression didn't change.

Once again, she opened her mouth to protest, but instead just stomped off. "You are going to hear about that in two days. If she hadn't been so stunned about the pregnancy, me think the lady would have protested a bit more." Amelia laughed, coming out from behind the doorway.

"I'm glad I didn't have to pull the 'Dad knew' card, but I would have." Eric winked at me.

"Your Dad knew? Since when?"

"Since he stopped by one morning a couple of weeks ago and overheard you singing to the toilet. He straight out asked, and I had to tell him. He left before you came out of the bathroom, and both of us swore never to talk about it again."

"You could have told me?"

"I didn't want to upset you, and force you to live in the fear I've been living in for weeks, that Mom would find out." He grinned. "I guess the jig is up."

"And we did so well, another 45 minutes and we would have made it past the wedding." I knew the next few hours were not going to fun for anyone.


	37. Chapter 37

**So here's the second wedding, I hope you all enjoy! I think I have about 2 chapters left in this story, because I've been inspired to start another AH story by my conference this week, and because, while I could continue to take this story places, I don't want it to get stale. I really appreciate your reviews, chapter after chapter, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! If there's anything you'd like to see in my wrap up, let me know and I'll consider it!**

Eric

For a moment, I was a bit pissed off that Sookie would even think that I would be up in my childhood room fucking Hilda. Not in this lifetime, not in any lifetime. But then, I looked at her for a minute, and realized that she had had a very long day. Not that I hadn't, with Mom chasing me around, and barking orders at me, but she had the added stress of a baby growing inside of her, and trying to keep that a secret from my bossy, domineering mother. I forgave her the moment she wrapped her arms around me and would never mentioned it.

I'd been a bit harsh with Mom, when it came to babygate, as Dad and I had taken to calling it, but I really didn't want to get into it, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. But I knew, the day after tomorrow she was going to show up at the townhouse, which I had renamed the den of inequities, as of late, and give Sookie and I an earful. Her attempts at keeping us apart were a bit annoying as well, and I really didn't want to put Sookie, who had enough on her plate, through anymore.

After Mom stormed off, presumably to tell Dad something he already knew, I grabbed Sookie's hand and led her back up the stairs and into another spare room, not my old room, for obvious reasons. We both plunked down on the bed.

"Boy, this day just keeps getting better and better."

"You are telling me. Could anything else possibly happen? Really?"

She looked thoughtful. "Lafayette could announce that Pam is having his baby. That would make it better. You know what the best part will be?" She raised her eyebrow deliciously.

"The end?"

"Well yes, but also, showing you what's going on underneath this dress."

"Oh. Yes Lover, I am most looking forward to that. Care to preview? It may just get me through the day." Our ten minutes of kissing had gotten me quite heated up. Pregnancy made Sookie even hotter than she was before. And she was hot before. I think it was knowing that she was having my baby. There was something so intimate about it, really about everything she did. When she ate, she was feeding a part of me, when she slept, she was creating energy to help a part of me grow. It was all quite profound, and I'd never felt any of it with Pam, from the get go. I felt all those things about Jake, but not as he was connected to Pam. It was a whole different thing. I just really wanted to make her happy, all the time.

She flopped back on the bed. "I'll certainly oblige you. I think you've earned it today. This train is so heavy, so if you want a peek, you're going to have to climb up here and see for yourself."

"I warn you, if I climb all the way up there, I may not be able to stop at a peek." It all felt so 19th century. There was something about a woman in a petticoat that really got me going. Well maybe it was just this woman in a petticoat, inviting me to take a look that really turned me on. I carefully removed her shoes.

"Well, you may be short on time, but once you're up there, I really won't be able to stop you." She winked, and then her breathing hitched, as I slowly made my way up her dress.

"Your legs are cold. And no stockings this time I see." Her legs were so smooth and quivering like jello under my touch. I loved that she wanted me. Bad.

"Nope, no stockings."

I kept going. "Its getting warmer up here." I laughed as she squirmed.

"Stop tickling!"

I finally made my way to the top. "These look like the underwear from our first time, but lacier." They were hot, and pink.

"I was going to wear those ones, but I needed a strapless bra, so I went with the closest thing I could find. I didn't have it in me to go through the old, new, borrowed, blue bit again, but I did notice you are wearing my grandfather's cufflinks, so points for you."

"When do I get to collect these so-called points?" I breathed into her core, and I could tell she could feel it through the practically non-existent lace.

"Later." She moaned. I slowly hooked my thumbs around the sides of her panties, pulling them down, but leaving them around her ankle. I kept my eyes glued to hers, as I ran my finger along her length, and then quickly moved it in inside of her. "Oh, that feels amazing."

"You look like you could use some tension relief. I think I'm just the man to do it." I raised an eyebrow, as I inserted another. "But I don't know. You may have to tell me how I'm doing."

"Good, so good." I moved my mouth and gently stroked the tiny bundle of nerves that got such a reaction with my tongue.

"And that?" I continued anyway. Her moaning and clutching at her dress was all the encouragement I needed.

"Please don't stop." She squeaked.

I had her screaming my name in about ten minutes, which meant we still had 35 minutes until the ceremony.

"And done with time to spare." I slipped her underwear back up her body, replacing them as they had been. "Do you need me to tie you back into anything?"

She sat up, her cheeks a lovely shade of flushed, made even more lovely through the knowledge that I was the cause. "I think I'm ok. Amelia will kill me if she has to redo my lipliner, so can you take a raincheck until later? I'll totally make it worth your while?"

"You better." I winked at her and sat back beside her on the bed. "After our last wedding night, I have high expectations."

"They will be met, I can guarantee that."

"I can't wait to see how you make that happen."

We sat there for a minute, Sookie's feet dangling off the edge of the high bed. "I guess we should go out. Get this show on the road."

"Its going to be fun to watch Mom bite her tongue all day. I think she got the message."

"There's going to be hell to pay for it though. She's going to be pissed that we didn't tell her. She lives to be a grandma these days."

"And she'll still get to be a grandma. She just has a couple less months to fret about it now."

"I suppose." I helped her to her feet, doing the straps back up on her shoes. "I kind of want Sam to walk me down the isle, after Jason's stunt." She grinned.

"Then go tell them. Fuck Jason, after that stunt. That was my childhood bed."

"I think I will." We walked downstairs, Sookie looking considerably calmer. I went to find Dad and see how Mom was reacting to babygate, while Sookie went to switch isle walkers.

I found him, drinking a beer in the garage. "Your Mom is pissed."

"I didn't tell her you knew."

"But I inadvertently did."

"Oh."

"She'll get over it. She's got caterers to yell at. Beer?"

"Sure." I popped the top and had a sip. "I'll be really glad when this is all over."

"I know. She really wanted it though. It will be over before you know it."

"We bought a new house."

"Oh? I thought that might be coming."

"Yea, we needed a place of our own."

"That place really does reek of Pamela." He had no idea.

"Yea, that was part of it. Its a bit further away from you guys, but not much. A bit further from Jake too, but we'll still do our days."

"Of course. You know, I'm proud of you, Eric."

"Thanks, but why?" I knew that was a bit of a typical Dad wedding day thing to say, but he seemed to have more of a reason than that.

"Because you have an amazing ability to move forward. A lesser man would have let the Pam thing destroy him. Sookie is great, and you are such a perfect fit for each other, and if you had allowed yourself to dwell in the past, you wouldn't be building this future together. Your mother and I really do think the world of her, we just both seem to have very different ways of showing it."

"That is true. I keep finding out a bit more about the Pam situation all the time, and, to be honest, its pretty painful, but I seem to be able to keep it separate from my relationship with Sookie. There's a pretty clear past, present, future divide in my mind."

"That's good. Yea, the rumours about Pam weren't pretty." I figured he had probably heard them too. It's a pretty small circle we all traveled in.

"Nope. They weren't and aren't. Hey, guess what Sookie walked in on about an hour ago?"

Dad raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Her brother and Hilda having sex in my room."

"Seriously? Let's not tell your mother that one." He shook his head.

"Yea, we hadn't planned on it. She's going to ask Sam to walk her down the isle. She's a bit pissed."

"Understandably. I guess we should get out there. Entertain the guests with our team Northman tuxedos."

"We do look sharp, you have to admit."

"Yea, we clean up nicely. Let's go."

We walked into the backyard and got a look at the setup. Mom's yard had never looked better, and was a sea of flowers and wooden white folding chairs. There were about 60 guests mulling around. I recognized some of mine and Dad's employees and business associates, and a few of Mom's colleagues from over the years. There was a pianist set up on the left hand side of the altar, presumably to play the wedding march. It was so much more formal than last time, but very beautiful. I knew Mom's heart was in the right place, she just needed to ease up a bit.

I looked over to the left and found Pam, Jake, and her Dad, who I was quite surprised to see. I should have gone to see him in the hospital, but I really was trying to create some distance with Pam, and it just didn't seem like a good idea with everything that had gone on. I smiled at Pam, who had changed out of her black dress into a royal blue number that was much more appropriate for your baby daddy's second wedding.

"Sven, its so nice to see you." I took his hand, a bit taken aback by how weak he was. He'd always been a bit like an ox, but the stroke had done a number on him.

"I really wanted to be here. You were always like a son to me, and your wife to be is lovely, well from what I've seen of her." His voice was wavering, from the effects of the stroke.

"Thank you. I'm glad you're doing well." I smiled at him. "We'll have to get together with Jake sometime, once this is all over."

"Yes, we will. Good luck up there. Its always easier the second time around." He winked at me.

I laughed, remembering that Sven had been married more than once. Although my situation was a bit different, I appreciated his sentiment.

I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw my mother barking orders at the pianist. I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her neck. "Don't take it out on him if you're mad at me." She turned around and I grinned widely at her.

"I'm not mad, I'm disappointed Eric."

"I know you are, but really we haven't known for so long, and Sookie's been quite sick. There's been a bit of pressure with this wedding, and Anders' death, and I didn't, I mean we didn't want a bunch of fuss and attention. We thought one thing at a time would be easier for everyone to digest."

"Your father knew." I groaned internally.

"He just happened to be there. I didn't tell him and then decide not to tell you."

"I wouldn't have reacted badly."

I sat down in a chair and pulled her into one next to me. "This isn't probably the time or place to get into this, but you've been very stressful. This wedding is a lot more than what we would have done, and we know you wanted it, and that's why we went along with it. But this baby, its ours, and we, especially me, just wanted to keep it that way for a bit. I didn't get to do any of that with Jake, because of the whole situation and timing with Pam. Everyone knew everything about everything with him. Sometimes its nice to have secrets. I'm sure you and Dad have your share. And its not like we weren't going to tell you, or we thought you wouldn't be excited about being a grandma again, we just wanted to wait until it felt right."

She was quiet for a moment. "You have had a rough year. I just wanted to be there for you, like I always have been."

"And you are, but I have someone else who serves that role now too, and you have to let her do that."

"It was never like this with Pam."

"No, it wasn't." She looked at me, and I knew she got it. "I hope you'll come over for lunch in a couple of days, and we can talk about this like rational adults. I don't want Sookie getting upset. Her brother has been just awful, and that's stress enough. She thinks the world of you, and you being disappointed or upset with her is going to hurt her feelings. Can you just be happy about it, like I know you are, and forget about the rest of it?"

"I can do that."

"Good. I know you can. I know you are going through some stuff too, which is why I haven't said anything to this point, but you need to cut us some slack. And replace the bedding in my old room. Don't ask, just do it." I smiled at her.

She wrinkled up her nose. "I won't ask. Her brother is all over that Hilda, am I safe to assume it has to do with that?"

"You would be safe to assume." I gave her a hug, and looked up to see everyone taking their seats. "I guess its time to start." We got up and walked to the back of the yard. Dad took Mom's arm, and smiled at her, in a way I knew would make her forgive his minor deceit. They sat near the front, and I walked up behind them, and stood at the altar, beside the minister.

"You're sure your Norwegian?"

"Born and raised. I can get out my birth certificate if you like."

I smiled. "No, that'll be ok."

I stood there quietly, watching everyone take their seats, including a very red faced Jason and an oblivious Hilda. Sookie must have told him that she wanted Sam to escort her. After that stunt, on her wedding day, I couldn't blame her. Amelia and Trey sat down, followed by Lafayette, who was dressed very conservatively for a change. A huge grin came across my face, as I saw Sookie walking down the grass isle between the chairs. I'd already seen her, lots of her today, but it was wonderful to see her in this context, for what we both knew would be the final time. We'd decided a couple of days ago to write our own vows this time around, so I put my hand in my pocket, to make sure the piece of paper was there.

She finally reached me, and Sam handed her off.

"Same rules apply to this wedding. If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"Got it. Thanks Sam." I shook his hand and we smiled at each other.

The minister spoke in Norwegian and English, so his introduction took a bit of time. We finally got to the time where we exchanged our same rings once again, and began our vows. I had opted to go first.

"I take you, Sookie Stackhouse-Northman, in all the things we swore in our vows the last time, plus a few additional add-ons. I promise to always give you the things you need, and sometimes give you the things you don't. I promise to be loyal, to be your lover, and your friend, and the father of our children. I promise to be honest with you, perhaps to a fault at times, and I promise to always protect you, from whatever you need protecting from, and maybe when you don't really need protecting. Oh, and I promise to love you for the rest of our days." I could feel Mom's glare on me, but it wasn't as strong as I expected. We hadn't discussed us writing our own vows with her, because it was none of her business. I looked over at Sookie, who was smiling broadly back at me.

Sam handed her over her piece of paper. "And I take you, Eric Northman, ditto on the other vows, and I promise to be the mother of your children." She smiled over at Pam and Jake. "And to be your lover, and your friend, and to be loyal to you, perhaps to a fault at times. I promise to take care of you when you need it, and to love you unconditionally, even when you are impossible. I promise to support you and to love you for the rest of our days." I grinned over at her. We hadn't discussed what we were going to say, but it was clear we'd both done a bit of thinking over our year together when we wrote our vows, and knew what each point would mean to the other.

"All right. There you have it folks. You may now kiss the bride."

"Good thing we got all that practice in earlier." She winked at me, as I pulled her into me. Our kiss, for at least the third time, resulted in applause from the audience, and probably went on a little too long, but oh well.

When we finally broke, and walked back down the isle together, hand in hand, we were pelted with some sort of flower petals. When we finally made it back into the house, Sookie looked over at me. "Can you help me out of this dress?"

"Gladly."

"I have a lighter one to change into."

"Damn."

"Later you can strip me out of that one." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Come on. Let's go into the spare room downstairs. I have the other dress in there from earlier."

"Fine, fine. I'm still wondering what you've got planned for later."

"Like I said, you won't be disappointed. Since it isn't our real wedding night, I thought I'd take it up a notch." She smirked at me, as I untied her very elaborate dress and she stepped out of it, slipping into a white cocktail style dress.

"My interest is piqued, I'll give you that."

"Good, all the more incentive for us to make an early night of it. Lets aim to get out of here around 9."

"Its 6 now, so that sounds about perfect. Well 6:30 sounds even better, but we'll stay for appearances. Hey, what did you say to Jason?" I was curious how that had all played out.

"I just told him that I didn't want walking me down the isle after I'd been subjected to hearing his balls slapping against Hilda's ass an hour before. I think he got it."

"I should have said that I also promised to always appreciate your wonderful bluntness. I'll say it now. I promise to always appreciate that." I laughed, imagining the conversation.

"He took it ok. Sam was more than happy to step in."

"I knew he would be."

"He's my Sam. I knew it too."


	38. Chapter 38

**One more to go after this one! I'm a little sad to say goodbye to them, but I'm quite smitten with the new story I've started. Its a bit of an ode to my field, although I've yet to encounter this Eric unfortunately. An editor can dream. Anyway, the first chapter should be up tomorrow or the next day, so if you've liked this story, then add me to author alerts and check it out. I've tentatively titled it "The Expert".**

**I'm still unsure what I'll call Eric and Sookie's baby, so if you have any suggestions, send them along!**

Sookie

I took Eric's hand and we went out to join our guests, most of whom I didn't know personally. Eric introduced me to a few people he knew, mostly friends of his parents. When Amelia grabbed my arm, I was glad to take a walk with her.

"So you did it! You finished the wedding redux. What's next?" I laughed as she posed as a reporter.

"Well, since this isn't our real wedding night, which was beautiful and romantic and all that, I'm turning up the kink factor." I knew she, of all people, who brought condoms instead of shoes to Japan, would appreciate it.

"Nice." Her normal hi-five followed. "What do you have planned?"

"Come with me." I pulled her into the house, and to my overnight bag, which was in one of the spare rooms.

"We had a funny conversation about my lack of experience, well compared to his, which is vast, let me tell you, and he thought I wanted to have a threesome with Pam, which is pretty gross, since her sexual experience trumps his. Anyway, we got over that, when I said my idea of being, well adventurous would involve a blindfold, some sort of bondage or some foodplay. So I got all of those things." I started pulling them out.

"Nice. Threesomes are gross, especially in the context of a serious relationship."

"Agreed. Its not something I'm interested in pursuing, and he's already done it, and it didn't work out well for him."

"Ah yes, the infamous Pam. She's nice."

"Yea, she's good, but not someone I want to think about my husband's dick in. Anyway, what do you think? Is he going to be weirded out? I've kind of been hyping it up all day. Is it weird because I'm pregnant?"

"Don't be silly. I think he'll be very into it."

"I think I'll let him pick first." I raised an eyebrow. "I also bought this." I pulled out some very sexy black lingerie outfit and a riding crop.

"Wow Sook, you really go all out."

"This is more just to be funny." I tapped her with the crop.

"All right, let's get out there, so you can get on with it. I'll be living vicariously through you while Tray and I are having missionary sex in the hotel." She winked. "Who am I kidding."

We went back out to the party, and Elise grabbed me and pulled me aside. "No baby talk. I just wanted to give you a hug and apologize for being such a wedding nazi."

"Forgiven. We'll talk in a couple of days." I hugged her back and went to find Eric. We mingled around for a bit, I said hi to Pam's dad, talked to my boys for a bit, and before we knew it, it was nearly nine.

"So."

"So. Are you about ready to go?" He wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Yep." I grinned broadly. "You are either going to think I'm awesome, or think I'm an idiot."

He shrugged. "I'm sure it will be the former, and not the latter."

We said our goodbyes and grabbed our overnight bags and got in the car. A few minutes later, we pulled into the Oslo hotel, where we'd had the fateful paparazzi encounter a few months before, well more like 6 months before. We quickly checked in and headed up to the suite, Eric once again swooping me up as we got to the door.

"I know we aren't exactly traditional, but I'll take any excuse to feel you pressed up against me." We walked through the door, and into a pretty sweet suite.

"Give me a minute, I need to, well, set up."

He looked at me strangely. "Ok, I'll be in the bathroom?"

"It'll only be a minute." He went in and closed the door, and I quickly stripped out of my dress and very sweet pink bra and panties and into the black lacy number that I packed. I grabbed the blindfold and handcuffs, and what I hoped was chocolate sauce, but may have been something else, I still couldn't read Norwegian very well, out and laid it on the bed. I did my best to lay in a sexy way, which had me on my stomach, feet up in the air, and cleavage pushed together. "Ok, you can come out."

Clearly he had an inkling what I was up to, because he came up already in his boxer briefs. "What's all this?" He grinned at me broadly. "That's not what you were wearing earlier."

"Nope. Like I said earlier, I thought we could try something new, since we already had our wonderful, romantic wedding night."

"I see you have an assortment of props here. I'm not exactly sure what you're planning to do with the BBQ sauce, but I'm game. Really? A riding crop?"

"I thought it was chocolate sauce. Shit. Well we'll have to save that for another time. I just bought that to be silly."

"So."

"So. Do you want to be tied up or blindfolded." I was actually a little nervous. I was a meat and potatoes kind of girl, and this hadn't been on the menu before.

"Oh, you are doing this to me are you." He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we could swap off. So I can tie you up and you could blindfold me, or whatever you want."

He looked at me, thinking for a minute. "I would like to tie you up, so you can blindfold me."

At least one of us was decisive. "Who goes first?"

"I do." He laid down on the bed and handed me the blindfold. "Do your worst."

"All right. Here goes nothing."

"Don't be nervous. It'll be fun." He winked, as I tied the scarf around his eyes. I slowly eased myself down his body, my fingers feather light on his arms, and then down his abs and a little lower, as I eased his boxers off, finding him hard as a rock.

"You're really into this."

"I like it when you're in charge. Sometimes."

I took a finger and gently ran it from base to tip, then took him in my mouth. He moaned loudly, as I don't think he'd been expecting me to move so quickly. After a few minutes, I pulled my mouth away.

"Where'd you go?" I smiled to myself, as I eased myself onto him. "Oh. There you are." I traced my fingers, up and down his chest, and then replaced my fingers with my breasts. "For someone who professes to be inexperienced, you seem to to know exactly what you are doing."

"Mmmm." I breathed along his neck, and licked his ear, while I slowly moved up and down him, as he thrust, almost involuntarily, into my hips.

"Fuck, this feels amazing." He moved his hands, looking for my breasts I assumed, and I smacked them away.

"Hands off. I'm running this show." I moved and put a nipple in his mouth, but removed it quickly.

"Fuck, I'm going to cum. I feel like I have the stamina of a 15 year old boy." He thrust his hips up, pushing into me hard, and I smiled, as I felt him unload into me, for what felt like ages. When I was sure he was done, I slid my hands up and untied the scarf. "That's one to add to the rotation for sure."

"Yea, you seemed pretty into it." I winked as I laid beside him. "Let's order some dinner, before we go for round two."

We ordered room service and ate it on the bed, in our underwear. "So I was thinking for our honeymoon, we could go to Louisiana. What do you think?" he looked at me, in all seriousness, for about 5 seconds before he started laughing. "I couldn't even do that with a straight face. I was thinking Hawaii. How's that sound to you Lover?"

"You wouldn't have to twist my arm to get me to Hawaii. We'll have to go soon though. Do you realize that I'm four months pregnant? That means five months until we have a baby."

"I know. Its very exciting." He moved his face to my stomach. "I still think its a girl. Do you want to find out before?"

"Yes. Do you?"

"Pam really didn't want to with Jake, but to be honest, I really did. And then she went and went to a fortune teller anyway. So lets find out."

"Ok." I sat there, as he picked up the plates and put them on the floor.

"Round two?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Its silly, but I'm a little nervous. Very aroused, but nervous."

"Why are you nervous?" He laid me down, and weaved the scarf between the spindles on the bedpost, then gently took my hands.

"I'm not really. Maybe more excited." I pulled my wrist and he had definitely secured them to the bedposts.

"I didn't tie them too tightly did I?"

"No, they're fine."

"Ok." I watched, as he slid between my legs, and ripped my underwear off. I'd liked those ones, but there was something about the raw sexuality of having them ripped off that was pretty hot. He teased me for a while, running his tongue along me, and then pulling away. Finally, when I was whimpering, at about the point I would have pushed his head into me, if I'd had my free hands, he latched on to my clit, sucking hard, as he roughly palmed my breasts, twisting my nipples, straddling the fine line between pleasure and pain. I leaned into his face, trying to create as much pressure as possible. After a few minutes of his relentless touch, I finally gave in and let my orgasm wash over me.

"That was great."

"Yea. Good call on the props."

"Is there anything you've wanted to do with me?" I wrapped my arms around him, after he untied my hands.

***

Eric

There was one thing, but I wasn't sure how she'd respond to it. "I don't know."

"You don't know if you have anything or if you want to do it?" Damn, she was too good at reading me.

"I have something, but I'm not sure if I want to do it, or if you would want to. I don't know."

"Come on. The worst I could say would be no." Yea, and then you'd could think that I was unsatisfied with everything else, which was not what I wanted to have her think, especially when she'd just taken her first stab, hopefully the first of many, at kink.

"Maybe I won't say no." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Do you want me to come right out with it?" I knew her, and I'd said too much to drop it now. She'd be relentless.

"Yea, what else would you do?"

"I want to fuck you, well, somewhere else."

"Oh." Oh? I guess it wasn't a definitive no. "Oh."

"Like I said, you can say no, and I'll never bring it up again. You did so well with the rest of tonight, I'd never want to push you into anything you weren't comfortable doing."

She looked thoughtful. "Its not that I'm saying no. I'm just not sure what to expect. I guess that's why I'm apprehensive."

"I understand that. I do." I'd only done it once, and I'd been about 19, and Pam had hated it, but Pam wasn't really into penetration of any sort, so that wasn't much of a surprise. I also hoped in the ten years of sex I'd had since then that I had improved enough to know when something was pleasurable.

"I'll do it. Let's do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, but let's do it, but I want to do it before I talk myself out of it."

"All right, I can do that. Now, you have to tell me if you are uncomfortable or if I'm hurting you." I knew that a man of my size had the potential to cause a bit of pain, if not wielded properly.

"I will. Ha, we should have added that to our vows. I promise to tell if you are making me uncomfortable or hurting you."

"Very funny. So you're really ok with this?" I was more than ok with it. In fact, I was pretty damn excited that she'd agreed to it. The idea of owning her in that way, really got my dominant side going, not that I'd ever tell her that, although I suspected she already knew.

"Yep, I'm good with it. Wait, don't we need a condom or something?"

"Believe it or not, there were some in the welcome basket in the bathroom, along with some candles, and a bottle of his heated lubricant stuff. I booked a wedding night package and I guess that's what it included."

"Well this has all worked out very conveniently then." She smirked at me, as I got up and brought the box of condoms out. I have to admit, I'd given this a fair go-over in my fantasies, so I just decided to go with that and see how it worked out.

I pulled her up on her knees, so she was sitting on them, and I eased myself in behind her. I took my hands, and ran them over her, stopping to pay a bit of attention to her breasts on the way. I put my face in her hair, and breathed in deeply. I could tell she was tense, so I murmured in her ear. "Relax Lover." I pinched her breasts a bit, and she trembled under my touch.

"Keep that up and I'll be plenty relaxed." She giggled, as I kissed her neck. After I felt her relax a bit more, I slowly eased her onto all fours.

"Remember, tell me if I'm hurting you." I entered her, the normal way first, to help her relax.

She moaned, as I gently moved in and out of her, running my hands over her breasts. They were getting really heavy, due to their recent growth sprit. I pulled out, inserting a couple of fingers, and eased one into her ass. She tightened up, and then relaxed, as I slowly moved it in and out. "How does that feel?"

"Good, it feels good." She moaned, pushing back on my thumb. I guess it was now or never. I removed my hand, and put a condom on, then replaced my fingers, relishing in her wetness. I moved them up her ass, adding some added lubrication. I positioned myself at her entrance, and continued to thrust in and out of her with my fingers.

"I'll take this slow." I leaned down and whispered in her ear. I grabbed the bottle of lubricant and added a healthy dose to my hand. She nodded. I pushed, and then entered her, about an inch. I felt her tense up again, so I moved my thumb to her clit, which elicited a moan. I kept it there, as I continued, slowly but steadily. "Still ok."

"Yep." Her voice sounded a bit strained, but she gave no indication that she wanted to stop. I moaned, as I moved a bit further in. The tightness was phenomenal.

"Fuck, you're so tight." She mumbled back, incoherently, and moaned again, as I stopped for a minute , to see if I could get her to cum. I began tracing small circles on her clit, and thrusting in gently, and increasing my speed a bit, until I finally found myself buried to the hilt. I let out a breath, before slowly easing out a bit. I smiled, as Sookie began to moan a bit too. After about three very slow thrusts, I felt my orgasm building. I pulled out, and pushed back, a bit harder and faster than before, having lost a bit of the great deal of self control I'd been acting with. As I did that, I felt her shudder beneath me, and then cry out.

"Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" I stopped immediately.

"No, no. It actually felt good. You totally misread that. Don't stop."

"Oh." All right then. I continued to increase my speed and force a little more each time, while using one hand to hold her hips in place, while keeping the other one side of her. I managed to last a bit longer than anticipated, and as I came, I pulled my hand out, and used both hands to pull her into me, crying out her name, before collapsing on the bed beside her. After a few minutes, we headed to the shower to clean up.

"That, wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be." She laid out beside me on her back, her hair wet from the shower.

"I actually quite enjoyed it."

"Of course you did." She nuzzed into my neck. "What would you possibly not enjoy about it. I'd let you do it again, maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yea, who am I kidding, by the end it felt pretty good."

We went to sleep for a bit, and then got up and had good old fashioned sex again, and then again the next morning, and then again when we got home. I was glad to get back to some normalcy, which was something we hadn't had in a while, or, well ever. It was always Jake, or Louisiana, or some wedding, or something else. I was really looking forward to some routine for the first time in my life. Maybe I was getting old.

Mom was fine with the baby info session. I was glad I'd had her mull it over before we had any sort of discussion about it.

We booked a trip to Hawaii in May, which was pretty relaxing. By then, Sookie was clearly pregnant, so she wasn't self conscious about wearing a bathing suit since she had a bump, and didn't think people would just think she was fat. I thought she looked gorgeous. Pregnancy had her glowing.

In June, we, and by we, I mean the movers we hired, packed up the townhouse and we settled into our new house. I gave Sookie creative control on the decorating, and, while it wasn't the masculine bachelor pad that Pam had created for me, it felt like somewhere a family would live. I took a couple of Asia trips, one of which Sookie accompanied me on, the other I went solo. Amelia and Trey had gotten engaged in May, when he took her home to Australia to meet his family. Her father was annoyed, but of course, Amelia didn't care. The wedding was the following summer, so we gave a very early RSVP, since they'd come all the way here for ours.

Pam and I kept working to make our relationship amicable. Sometimes it went well, sometimes it didn't, but we always kept things civil when Jake was involved.

The summer passed, and it was a hot one. I felt bad for my wife, who spent most of July and August sitting in the basement, which was the coolest room in the house. I did my best to keep her comfortable, going out at all hours of the night to pick up random things, rubbing her back, which was constantly sore from her breasts and her stomach. She cursed me daily for being so tall, because she figured the baby was going to be huge. We found out in late August that my hunch had indeed been correct, and we were having a girl. We mulled over some names, but decided to hold off judgement until we met her.


	39. Chapter 39

**So this is it....I'm a bit sorry to say goodbye to these characters, but it was awfully hard to finish this! I hope everyone's still reading....sorry for the huge delay! My new story has been kind of all consuming!**

**Thanks to everyone for reading. The reviews you write are really what keeps us all doing this, so keep that in mind when you read something you like!**

Sookie

I was big, big as a house. And it was hot. Norway wasn't supposed to be hot. Everyone had said how awful the cold was, but the heat was doing me in. I spent about 8 hours a day in the basement of our new house, which bummed me out, because I really liked the rest of the house.

As far as pregnancies go, I couldn't complain, well once the nausea stopped. Eric was doting, as usual, running out in the middle of the night to buy me the closest thing he could find to rocky road ice cream on a whim.

Sex with the belly had started out fine, but for the last month I'd just decided that it wasn't logistically possible. Eric was, well as supportive as someone who really likes sex can be, when they aren't getting any. He was having very long showers, and I left it at that.

I was due any day. Pam had thrown me a baby shower last month, and with her Jake hand-me-downs, we were beyond ready. The kid had a nursery to die for. She was going to be a very lucky, and probably very spoiled baby.

For the last month, Eric had stalled his travelling and was working from home, which was great, because I really didn't want to think about what it would be like to have our baby without him there. After the Pam fiasco, pretty much a year before, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous, about the whole thing. We were already told that we'd probably have to have a c-section, because she was quite a large baby, and, unless something happened really quickly, she wasn't going to turn in time.

Today, unfortunately, was the first day in a month, where I was home alone. Eric's dad had purchased a new boat, and the christening name ceremony was this afternoon. I'd contemplated going, but having my water break at a shipyard was pretty much my worst nightmare, so I passed.

I was sitting outside, enjoying the first cool day in ages, when it happened. My water broke all over the patio. I'd taken to carrying my cell phone around and instantly hit the speed dial number for Eric. No service. Again. No service. Fuck. Who else could I call? Elsie and Peter were also at the shipyard.

I called Pam. "Sookie?"

"My water broke, and I can't get ahold of Eric."

"Let me get Jake ready, and we'll come get you." She hung up. Pam was good in a pinch, no matter what issues her and Eric had, which were still quite apparent at times.

I sat there, for a while, for what seemed like years, waiting for her, and frantically dialing Eric. I was going to have to leave him a note. Dear Eric, I'm having our child. Why the hell don't you have cell signal? You have cell signal in the middle of the ocean. Your wife, Sookie.

Deep breath. I clutched my stomach, and noticed that I was having mild contractions. Great. I got myself up and sat down on the kitchen floor, which was cool, and seemed as good a place to have a baby, if I had to have one here, which I didn't really want to.

Pam showed up about 30 minutes later. "I don't know much about having a baby like this. I guess we should get you to the hospital."

"You think?"

"Where's Eric?"

"Doing some sort of boat launch. He's not answering his fucking phone. I don't think he has signal" I looked up at Jake. He was looking more and more like a little boy, a little Eric.

"So let's get you up, and I'll drive you over." With Jake in one hand, she attempted to pull me up. "Boy, you know who would be useful right now? Eric."

"I'm furious with him. Rationally, I know its not his fault, but I'm still furious."

"He's easy to be irrationally angry at. Like when I found out I was pregnant. I could have murdered him, even though it was totally irrational. Come on Sookie, help me here."

I grabbed the edge of the counter and pulled myself up, with Pam's help. "Thanks Pam. I have a bag packed, can you grab it? And maybe something for me to sit on in your car." My southern manner shining through. Gran would have been proud.

"Yea, I got it. You know, looking at you, I'm glad I didn't go full-term, well besides the near dying and all. You look so huge and uncomfortable."

"Thanks Pam." I looked down. I hadn't seen my feet in weeks. I could feel her moving inside of me, and I couldn't help but smile through my discomfort. I'd see her soon enough. "Jake, you'll have a little sister soon."

Pam snorted. "Good thing you came along. He's it for me."

"You haven't forgotten the pain and discomfort yet? I thought people did, and that's why they had more kids."

"I almost died. Pretty hard to forget that. But I'm sure you'll do fine." She grinned at me, as she put Jake in his car seat. I managed to get in the front seat of her car, and after an extreme amount of effort, got the seatbelt around me. "I bet you'll be happy to fit in things again."

"You have no idea." I dialed Eric, Peter, and Elsie again. Still nothing. Ugh.

"I have to ask, how's the sex going?" Pam smirked at me.

I shot her a look. "How do you think its going."

"I was so horny when I was pregnant. It was terrible, because its not like a lot of women want to have sex with a pregnant woman. And I was so scandalized. No one wanted to touch me with a ten foot pole."

"Things were fine, until a month ago." Why was I telling Pam this. I guess it was distracting me from the real issue, my pounding contractions. "It just became impossible. I'm too large."

"Yea, I would think logistically, that would be difficult. I can't imagine Eric going without sex for a whole month, and whatever the aftermath of all this is." she gestured at my stomach.

"He's been spending a lot of time in the shower."

"I bet. How's your Dad?"

"He's good. He's living at home, with a nurse stopping in on him daily. Its better than all that time he spent in the hospital."

"I bet. Ok, these contractions are really uncomfortable."

"We're almost there. Try Eric again."

I did. Still nothing. "Fuck."

"I'll stay with you."

Pam, despite everything, was wonderful. Eric could fault her for whatever he wanted, but as far as I was concerned, she was gold. Especially at this very moment. I sat in the car with Jake, while she went and got me a wheelchair. A few minutes later, we were sitting in a hospital room, waiting for a doctor.

"It looks like, from your last ultrasound, that we're going to have to perform a caesarean section. The baby is breech." Tell me something I didn't know. Although, at this moment, the idea of pushing the giant Northman baby inside of me out was quite undesirable.

"I know. Can I wait for my husband?"

She thought about it. "Not very long, because your water broke. We need to start this. I'm going to start you on the local anaesthetic."

Great. Pam and Jake joined me. "He finally answered. They're on the way, but its going to be like 30 minutes." This was not how I had pictured this going. "I'll stay with you as long as I can."

"Thanks Pam."

After about ten minutes the anaesthetic started kicking in. It felt odd to say the least. "Have you picked a name yet?"

"We have a few." We'd narrowed it down to about five.

"You'll know when you see her."

About 10 minutes later, the doctor came back in. "I don't think we can wait any longer. Your husband can join you when he arrives."

Great. "Ok, let's get this show on the road."

I wanted to kill him. That is, until he showed up about five minutes later, in a hospital gown and cap. "Sorry, I didn't realize there was no signal, Lover. Are you ok?" He kissed my forehead.

"I'm as ok as possible I guess. I'm glad you're here now."

He sat down beside me. I was grateful for the screen, because whatever was going on down there felt odd, without feeling painful. Eric peeked over every now and then. "They say its going well."

"I'd hope so." I kind of lost track of time. Before I knew it, I heard a cry. I reacted to it instantly.

"They're just cleaning her off. She's beautiful." Eric beamed at me, watching the goings on below my waist, or what used to be my waist. After a few more minutes, they handed her to Eric, and then he handed her to me. I counted fingers and toes, like everyone does, and then just took her in. She was beautiful, blond haired and blue eyed, of course.

When everything was cleared, we were put in a room, back where I had started, and I got my first glimpse at our little family.

"I must say, despite the surgery, and nearly missing everything, this is all much less stressful than the last time I did this."

"Its not so bad now, but when my water broke, I wanted to murder you. You always seem to show up right on time though, right from the beginning, so part of me knew you'd be here."

"I bet you did. Its one of my strong points. Good timing." He grinned over at me broadly. "Pam said she'd be back in an hour or so."

"She came right away."

"She's got her good points."

"So what are we going to call this little one?"

"I've been thinking about that most of the day."

"Really?"

"Yea, I shouldn't have left today. I thought of it as soon as I was in the car."

"Bygones. So back to her name. Her eyes are the same colour as yours." I was in love. Beyond love. Like I didn't think it was possible to love someone like that.

"You'd talked about giving her your Gran's name for her middle name. So something that goes with Adele."

"None of the names we talked about look like her." And just like that, I threw our short list out the window. I moved over on the bed, the best I could, and Eric half crawled up beside me, and we looked at her. "Come on baby, what's your name?" I cooed at her.

"She looks, classic. She needs a classic name."

"Yea, I agree. How about Katherine. Katie. Does she look like a Katie?"

"No, I don't think she does. What about Chloe?"

"I don't think so. How about Ava."

"I like that. She looks like an Ava."

"Ava Adele. I think it could work." I leaned into him the best I could, without having any feeling over my lower half. "She's one huge baby. Almost 9 lbs."

"I feel like that's probably my fault."

"Its nice to finally meet her. She'd become quite well acquainted with my organs."

"You did amazing."

**Eric**

And she had done amazing. I remember thinking the same thing with Pam, how incredible it was, the whole thing. "I sent my parents home. I told them I'd call when you were ready for company."

"Lets wait a little longer." She smiled over at me. "I'll appreciate some help at some point, but its nice just having you and her here, for a little bit."

"Then let's do that." I'd called to tell them that everything was fine. They could wait a couple of hours.


	40. Epilogue

**So where the heck did this come from? Well, I always wanted to end it, in a more real way, and it wasn't until about five hours ago, that I figured out how to do that, exactly. I hope if you remember this story, that you enjoy! This is really, really it for these guys!**

**Thanks to Linds K for the pre-read!  
**

* * *

**Five years later...**

**Eric**

I was helping Ava with her homework when the doorbell rang. "Who's that Dad?" She looked up from her work, which was basically colouring.

"How should I know? I'll find out though." I got up and signed for a registered letter, from, the estate of William Compton. What the fuck?

Ava glanced at me, expectantly. "So?"

"Something for your Mom, I think." I wouldn't open it without her. I'd learned my lesson with the PI and Compton years ago.

"She's working late tonight."

"I know. We can look at it when she gets home. You almost done? It's almost bed time. We need to get a story in."

"Is Jake coming over this weekend?"

"Yep, and we're going to go Paradisbukta, remember?" The beach.

She nodded. "Just making sure. Okay, I'm done. Let's go read." Ava was smart, smart as a whip. The slightly odd family situation we were in, with Pam, and Jake's other mom, Claudine, was still something she sort of struggled with. Hell, I'd struggled with it for years. Pam and I had worked out a pretty easy visitation schedule, and were flexible with it, which made things easier than they could have been. Jake spent about half his time here, and half his time with his moms, which worked out well for Pam, since Claudine, as the head buyer for a major department, store travelled quite a bit for work. She went with her quite often, since they married a couple of years before. Ava had been their flower girl, which was pretty fun for her. Because her and Jake were close in age, they were really close, staying up all hours of the night telling each other secrets until we busted them and sent them to their respective rooms.

I finished two stories with her, and shut the light out. Summer holiday was just around the corner, so the days were quite long. I closed the blinds, and gave her five kisses, one for each year, which I figured was going to get awkward when she started hitting double digits, but for now, it was fine. We spoke English at home, and she spoke Norwegian at school, and with Grandpa.

My mom had succumbed to breast cancer about two years earlier, after a battle that had started around the same time Ava was born. Having the wedding that we had here, no matter how opposed to it we'd been at the time, had been a really great decision, because it meant the world to her, and having that time, for her to look back on, before her world fell to shit, was really important. She'd suffered terribly, at the end. It had been something that I never would have been able to imagine, before it actually happened. There was no remission, and she held on, for every special occasion she could, finally giving in about three weeks before Ava's third birthday. Sookie and I had spent a great deal of time with Dad since then. It almost broke him, losing her, and I was fairly certain he'd never date, or move on again. He doted on my kids though, and they both adored him, and in some way, with maturity beyond their years understood that they had to be careful with him, and be as fun as possible. Jake was a natural comedian, just like I'd been, and the two of them would spend hours laughing about movies or TV shows, or really just about anything. We had him for dinner at least once a week, and either Sookie or I went to check on him at least once or twice a week as well, to make sure he wasn't too down. I was fairly certain he was on anti-depressants, but I'd never ask him about it. He wasn't the kind of man that would ever want me to know he was having a hard time dealing with things. He was dealing, and that was what was important.

We'd decided we wanted another kid, when Ava was about three, after Mom had died, and we had a bit of a life is too short revelation, but we'd had no luck. I had no problem making unintentional babies, but the intentional ones seemed to be a different story. After a year, we checked out a fertility clinic, and they saw no real reason why we'd have an issues. We both checked out fine, so they were reluctant to put us on any sort of hormonal treatments. After two years, we'd kind of just said fuck it, and left it under the realm of 'it'll happen if it's meant to happen.' It wasn't like we weren't busy enough, with me taking over the company for Dad, who had officially retired, but was still unintentionally butting in whenever possible, and Sookie's new tutoring company. She'd gotten her Masters in TESOL while caring for baby Ava, somehow, and started tutoring, first at home, and then in a small office. She now had a couple of other teachers working for her, and offered a number of certifications for students both from abroad studying in Norway, and for Norwegian students that wanted to go to universities in English speaking countries. It was a lot of work, at first, but now that she had some help, it wasn't so bad. She worked late two nights a week, since students usually took classes in the evenings, and two early shifts on the weekends, as well as the managerial duties that she'd undertaken, owning her own business. I was proud of her. She was very responsible with her business, and was turning a profit within a year of starting in her own office, which was impressive.

I was in my office, looking at some of the paperwork for the month, when I heard her come in the door. I'd almost forgotten about the letter, until she came in looking at it, a curious look on her face. "Did you sign for this?"

"Yea."

"I wish you hadn't bothered."

I shrugged. "I didn't know what it was at the time. I was helping Ava with her school work."

She slammed the letter down in front of me. "He left me everything. What the fuck is that?"

"What? He's dead?"

"I guess so. Says here he was killed in a car accident three days ago, outside of Shreveport and that he left me everything."

We'd been keeping tabs on his whereabouts for years, since the last time we were in Louisiana, and he'd never once tried to make his way to Europe. "Is there a letter or anything?"

"Nope. He just wrote it in his will, a year ago, according to the lawyer."

"That's so weird."

"I don't want it. Any of it."

Of course she didn't. "Then donate it to some charity or something."

"Why would he leave it to me? After all this time. I hated him." She curled up in my lap.

"Lover, I have no idea. But seriously, did anything Bill Compton ever do make sense?"

"I guess not." She sighed. "I still hate him. I don't care if he's dead. He's still trying to make me think about him, even from beyond the grave."

"Yea, I have no idea what his motivation would be for that, except he's a twisted fuck. But we already knew that."

"I know." She wrapped her arms around me, and we sat there quietly for a minute. "I think I need to go to the funeral."

"What?"

"I know, I know. I have to know he's really dead. I know, that's weird too, but I need the closure." After his weirdness, she'd spent a lot of time internalizing what had happened with him. He'd creeped her out, and he was still out there, and now he wasn't. "I'll sleep easier, if I know." She turned around, straddling my lap until we were face to face.

I brushed some hair out of her face. She was so teachery in a pencil skirt and a blouse, and her black pumps. "Really? Back to Louisiana? You really want to do that to yourself?"

"No. But I think I have to."

"Was he still bothering you?"

"No." She was quiet for a minute. "Maybe a little. You were there. It was creepy, that whole thing in New Orleans. If he ever came here, and anything ever happened? I don't know what I would have done. Maybe it'll feel better, going back now."

"A lot of things happened on that Louisiana trip, that didn't have anything to do with Bill, if I recall. Alcide?"

She laughed. "He's no problem. Jason said he married some chick about a year ago, and that they practically fuck at Merlottes. He's not interested in me anymore. Alcide was always overt, with his crazy behavior."

"Yea, I'd say he was pretty overt. Our lives have been so tame, since then."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh yea. If you don't count Pam's whirwind romance and marriage, separation, and recommitment ceremony as wild."

"Oh yea. That was pretty wild."

"And your Mom? Not quite on the same scale, but certainly not tame." She gave me a half smile. "Your Dad called me today. I invited him to the beach this weekend."

"That was nice. I hadn't thought of that. He'll bring the dog, yes?"

"Yea, he asked if I minded. Ava would be devastated if he didn't. She loves that dog, and it means we don't have to get one of our own."

"What if we just get a little one." I smiled. "Come on."

"I don't know. Let's talk about that some other time." She kissed me.

"No fair distracting me, like that."

She kissed me again, harder this time, and her hands went to my chest. "Carry me to bed."

"I love it when you're bossy." I stood up, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. "So are we going to Louisiana?"

"Yes."

"I also love it when you're decisive. I don't love the idea of Louisiana, but I guess we should show the kid where her better half came from."

"We'll avoid Bon Temps like the plague and spend a couple of days in New Orleans. We can show her where we got married."

"And she does have an affinity for Sam and Lafayette, so I guess we'll have to let them know the deal, and Jason, of course."

"I'll call Jason when we're there. I'm not giving him a bunch of notice so he has time to tell everyone. You know how he is." Gossipy. That's how he was.

"I do." I glanced in on Ava, who was fast asleep, and made my way into our room, depositing Sookie on our bed, before closing the door. "I'm working from home tomorrow."

She sat up, unbuttoning her blouse, to reveal a very non-mommy black silky bra that I loved, even more because I knew there were likely matching underwear under the skirt. "And I'm not working at all."

Thursday. The best day ever. I loved being self-employed. "Well then. What are we waiting for?"

"You're the one still in your pants." She slipped her skirt off. I was right on the underwear. Black and silky. "Get over here and fuck your wife, before someone has a nightmare, or has to go the hospital for something, or Pam decides she wants to borrow some sugar or something." She wasn't just making it up. That had happened before. More than once.

I walked over to the door, and locked it, before heading for the walk-in closet, and reaching for the shoebox near the back, out of reach of little hands, and pulling out a set of handcuffs. I twirled them around my finger, and came out in my boxers. "Oh, that's how you want to play, is it?" She squirmed a bit, a smile crossing her face. Since we were pretty far removed from the whole pregnancy, child birthing, 2am feedings part of parenting, we'd become quite comfortable experimenting with each other, when we had the opportunity not to have to make it a quickie or worry about being interrupted. Sookie, despite being quite in charge in most areas of our lives, quite liked being dominated in the bedroom, from time to time. I grinned, as she took her bra off, tossed it on the floor, and assumed the position, as I cuffed her to the headboard.

"The rules are as follows. You are to be as quiet as possible, and no finishing until I give you permission."

She bit her lip and nodded. I got up, and checked the door again, not wanting whatever kind of psychological damage would come from Ava seeing her mom chained to the headboard, and turned the light off, and the bedside lamp on. I looked at her laying there, for a minute, vulnerable and accepting of whatever I had to give. She was fucking fantastic.

**One Week Later...**

We'd had Jake for the whole week, since we were heading the the US for ten days, and he looked a bit mopey when we dropped him off at Pam's on our way to the airport. "I want to come."

"Next time. Your Moms have big plans for the week. Something about heading to Stockholm for a few days. I'll call you. Pam said she'd have her cell."

"I want to go with you though." He'd been a bit like that, with me lately. I gave Sookie a glance, and she raised an eyebrow. She did a pretty good job of leaving the complicated job of parenting a child with someone I didn't like a lot of the time to me, which was nice sometimes, but other times I wish she'd give a bit of input. She did, if I asked for it, but not otherwise. Her and Pam had a fragile peace at times, and she didn't like to mess with it.

"Sorry Jake. Can't do it." I grabbed his bag and carried it up to Pam's condo. "We'll do something when I get back, just you and I."

"Can I pick?" He'd pick fishing. It was a given. Fishing was our thing. Not like boat fishing, although he did like the big boats, but like sit on a wharf fishing, and shooting the shit, crap, whatever you shot with a seven year old.

"Sure." I gave him a kiss. "Be good to your Mom, and I'll call you."

"Bring me back something good."

"Will do." I smiled at him. "Love you."

"You too Dad." He went inside. I gave Pam a shout, and she shouted back, and we were on our way.

It turned out that Ava was a really great traveler. We'd gone shorter flights before, to other parts of Europe, but the flight to Louisiana, through New York, was certainly the longest one she'd ever been on. She slept for hours, right alongside Sookie. When we finally landed in Shreveport, I was exhausted, and they were wide awake. "So, we're going to see Uncle Sam, right? And Lafayette?" She grinned, as we stepped into the humidity that was Louisiana in late June.

"Sure will. Let's go for dinner, and we'll call them from the hotel later." Sookie looked up at at me. "You look exhausted. Do you want to do take out?"

I shook my head. "No, we can go out if you want."

Ava piped up. "I want to go out."

"Then we'll go out."

Despite almost falling asleep in my gumbo, dinner was good, and the hotel, or bed and breakfast rather, that Sam had booked for us was nice. "I'm going to bed. If you guys are going to go see Sam and Lafayette, I'm going to pass." I slumped on the bed.

"No, we'll see them after Bill's funeral tomorrow." She hopped in the shower, leaving me to discuss what she'd said.

And then Ava finally realized why we were here, even though we'd told her a few times. She scrunched up her nose, in a way that my mom used to do. "Who's Bill?"

"Your mother's old boyfriend, from a million years ago."

"And he's in heaven, with Granny?"

"Sure." That was questionable at best, but I wasn't getting into any existential issues with a five year old.

"Okay. And we have to go visit him, like we visit Granny?" We did go leave flowers for Mom a couple of times a year.

"Kind of. This is like the first visiting time, so it's a bit of a big deal. Like the first goodbye."

"There are more than one goodbye, when you're dead?"

"Sometimes, with someone like Granny. But not with someone like Bill. This is it." I highly doubted Sookie would want to spend any more time with dead Bill than absolutely necessary. I figured a quick coffin glance would do it. "He wasn't as special to us as Gran was." That was fair.

"Okay. Can we get pancakes tomorrow?"

"Yes, that we can. Do you want to call your Uncle Jason, let him know we're here?" I figured that way Sookie wouldn't have to. Her relationship with him was strained at best, after our wedding. Better to let the kid do the dirty work.

Ava smiled. She loved chatting on the phone. "Sure."

She called, and informed us, when Sookie got out of the shower, that he'd call us tomorrow to make dinner plans.

I slept well, despite being in a strange bed, and woke up to Ava's face in mine. "I want pancakes. You slept a lot."

"Okay, okay. I'm getting up. What time is it?"

"11am. Mom went to talk to a lawyer about Bill. She said to wake you up soon, but then I watched cartoons."

The funeral was at 1pm. "Okay, I'm getting in the shower. You watch some more cartoons, and then I'll get you ready. When did your Mom say she'd be back?"

"Lunchtime."

**Sookie**

I got back from the lawyer, around noon, and despite their arguing with me otherwise, left one hundred grand, plus personal effects, to an organization that I'd found online that dealt with battered women. Fuck Bill and his leaving me shit. I'd never buy anything for myself with that money and feel good about it. This I felt good about. It had taken me a long time to realize it, but the shit that Bill had pulled, had been manipulative abuse, pure and simple. I'd dismissed it as him, being crazy, which he was, but it was still that, and I actually felt hugely relieved at his death, even though I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Despite the fact that he hadn't presented an outright threat in the past five odd years, I had still felt a bit of a perceived one, even from across the Atlantic, because he was so unpredictable, and irrational.

I did see it, later that afternoon. The funeral was open casket, and while Eric and Ava sat near the back, I did a round past the coffin. It was him, for sure. I wondered, looking at him, what I'd ever really seen in him, especially when I looked at Eric, with our kid on his knee. He was really one of a kind, and despite our differences, we meshed fantastically. We rarely fought, over anything fundamental anyway, and he was a fantastic dad, to both of his kids, despite the difficulties we had with Pam at times. She wasn't ever completely unreasonable, we just had different parenting philosophies in many ways.

Once I was convinced that Bill was really dead and gone, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I ran into Lorena at the wake, and she'd parted ways with him after our run-in in New Orleans. We had a few awkward minutes of conversation, and a strange embrace, before Eric swept in and saved me from the whole situation. He was good for stuff like that. We left early, not having anyone there that needed an excuse for our absence. I didn't care what Bill's people thought of me.

My visit with Lafayette and Sam, was, as predicted, very enjoyable. They made the effort to come visit us in Norway every year or so, since they only had to pay airfare, and there were so many other great places to visit close to us, in Europe. Ava loved them to bits, and they both doted on her through dinner.

Jason was another story. He brought his latest girlfriend, who was a younger, and even trashier version of Crystal. He was short with me a couple of times, and I noticed Eric getting edgy about it. The incident at our wedding, with him and Hilda had really caused a breach with us. He didn't give a shit about my feelings, and I had a hard time caring about his, knowing that. He was sweet with Ava though, giving her a few things of Gran's that he had around, including a pendant that I'd always wanted, and wondered where it ended up.

When we finally packed up and headed the rental car to New Orleans, Eric looked over at me. "We survived."

"We did." I winked. "And you haven't even been injured or anything."

"Don't jinx me. We're still in Louisiana."

Ava piped up from the back seat. "Mom, everyone here sounds like you."

"They sure do."

"Can we go visit your parents?"

Eric and I looked at each other. "Honey, my parents aren't alive anymore."

"So. We still visit Granny." She had a point, except my parents were buried in Bon Temps, and we'd both sworn to avoid Bon Temps.

Eric glanced at me, and I shrugged. "Okay, we'll do it. But quick, and quietly."

We drove in, parking in Bill's family home, across the cemetery from my house, which looked occupied. I was pleased to see that someone had painted it, and it looked loved. Gran would have liked that a lot more than it sitting empty for the sake of a Stackhouse owning it. We picked some wildflowers, and left some for my parents and for Gran, and I answered the glut of questions that Ava had about my old life here. I was glad she'd pushed us to stop. When I left, it had been so awful that I had no plans to ever return, but as often happens after time, the vivid, awful memories had faded, and the muted ones that were left weren't so bad.

By the time we headed for New Orleans, Ava was fast asleep in the back seat in minutes, and Eric and I spent the five hour driving just talking about the silly little things that people rarely get the opportunity to just talk about, because life so often gets in the way. Stuff from work, funny things that the kids had done, or his Dad. I backed down on the dog thing, and agreed we could start researching breeds when we got back. His rationale was strong, and both kids were old enough to help out a bit, which was one of my concerns.

We ended up getting a suite with an adjoining room for the kiddo at the W, where we'd stayed last time we were here. Eric carried her up, and deposited her in her bed, tucking her in, before closing the door halfway and joining me. "I think the time change has her wonky."

"Agreed." He laid back on the bed. "She's not the only one. Do you want to order room service, and then she can have the leftovers when she wakes up as soon as we fall asleep?" He was right, that was bound to happen.

"Sure." I smiled. "We haven't had sex in a week."

"Sharing a room with a five year old will do that." He grinned.

"I know, but we aren't sharing a room with her anymore. And I can be quiet, if you can." I licked my lips. "A quickie?"

"How am I going to say no to that?" He pulled his shirt off, and climbed under the covers. "How's this. Fuck, food, and then sleep, then feed the kid, when she wakes up. That way, she's unlikely to interrupt the important stuff."

I climbed in with him, and kissed him, relishing in the warmth of his embrace. "Now that sounds like a plan."


End file.
